Against a backdrop of declining oil prices, sharp variations in exchange rates, and market volatility, global growth remains uneven. The prospect of a new mediocre lingers as medium-term forecasts have been marked down since the last GPA. Promoting balanced, sustained growth requires an...

Through the provision of both social and economic infrastructure, public investment can serve as an important catalyst for economic growth. A significant body of theoretical and empirical research underscores the positive relationship between investment in high-quality public infrastructure and...

After narrowing modestly in 2013, the global scale of current account imbalances, and of excess imbalances, held steady in 2014. Over the last several years, while the country composition of imbalances has rotated somewhat, overall there has been little progress on reducing excess imbalances....

Access to Fund financial resources provides a financial safety net to help countries manage adverse shocks, acting as a potential supplement to foreign reserves when there is a balance of payments need. Such support is especially important to developing countries with limited capacity to borrow...

This paper sets out Management's response to the Independent Evaluation Office's (IEO) evaluation of IMF Response to the Financial and Economic Crisis. The implementation plan proposes specific actions focusing on the three of the four recommendations that received broad support from the...

This paper proposes an extension of the current SDR valuation basket for a period of nine months to September 30, 2016. This extension would respond to feedback from SDR users on the desirability of avoiding changes in the basket at the end of the calendar year and facilitate the continued...

2015 is a pivotal year-a year when the international community will commit to a shared vision on goals for international development through 2030 and beyond. Achieving these Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require a partnership among advanced, emerging, and developing economies, and...

PRGT-eligible members make considerable use of Fund concessional financing. Since 2010, 56 percent of Fund arrangements have involved a PRGT-facility. This paper examines a number of issues raised by Executive Directors and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) since the...

Full text also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. Despite signs of recovery and resilience in some economies, global growth continues to disappoint, with the expected pick-up driven primarily by emerging markets. This persistent underperformance has exposed...