The rapid recovery in many low-income countries (LICs) following the global crisis has been sustained in 2012. Softening commodity prices have led to moderating inflation pressures in most LICs. However, progress in rebuilding policy buffers has halted over the past two years, despite continued...

Aid for trade can support countries trying to further benefit from the expanding global market place by helping to address poorly performing infrastructure and institutions. Needless to say, good policies also matter: trade liberalization, improving incentives for private investment in trade,...

Executive Directors welcomed the report of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) on IMF Advice on Capital Flows. Directors appreciated the high quality of the report, and its thematic and background country studies. Directors welcomed the finding that the adoption of the Institutional View...

As noted in the report, the adoption of the IV represented a major advance in the IMF's policy framework to provide advice on capital account liberalization and the management of capital flows. Before the adoption of the IV, there was no consistent framework to guide policy advice on these...

An assessment of vulnerabilities and risks in LICs remains important both for LICs themselves and for the international community. There are currently 74 LICs, eligible for concessional financing from the Fund. This group of countries has a total population of about 1.3 billion, with an average...

Trade integration can play a much larger role in boosting shared prosperity. The current focus on trade tensions threatens to obscure the great untapped benefits possible from further trade reform. The opportunities provided by information technology and other fundamental changes in the global...