The economic and financial crisis is affecting the fiscal accounts of virtually every country. Public sector support for the financial system, fiscal stimulus and the automatic stabilizers, as well as the revenue decline from the downturn in commodity and asset prices, are leading to sharp...

The financial system of Timor-Leste was disrupted by the postreferrendum turmoil. Therefore, various steps were taken to restore the financial system. In this paper, major oil/gas fields and their development, fiscal arrangements governing oil/gas activities, and the oil/gas revenues are...

This Netherlands’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that raising participation and productivity are important for boosting the economy potential and reducing pressures on the public finances in the face of population aging. The authorities have implemented or are in the process of...

Chad has succeeded in recent years in broadly maintaining macroeconomic stability and a high growth rate of economic activity. There has been a significant effort to formulate the detailed modalities for the use of oil revenues so as to ensure that oil revenues are used transparently and...

Austria’s 2004 Article IV Consultation reports that the economy has continued to perform relatively well, unemployment is among the lowest in the European Union, and competitiveness remains strong. Also, a gradual recovery is under way and short-term economic prospects are positive,...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic growth in Yemen slowed in 2004 owing to a sharp contraction in the oil sector. Oil production declined by 5.9 percent, reflecting diminishing recovery from aging large oil fields as well as the absence of significant new discoveries....

Following several years of expansion, the Dutch economy is in its third year of weak growth. Executive Directors commended the authorities on prudent economic policy, and advised for fiscal consolidation in view of population aging. They welcomed the multiyear fiscal framework, and underscored...

Economic activity stagnated in the first half of 2003, but recent indicators point to a gradual recovery. On product markets, there was agreement that progress had been secured over recent years, but also that Italy continued to suffer from insufficient competition in a number of protected...

The First Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility, and Requests for Waiver of Performance Criteria for Senegal are discussed. Economic activity in the first half of 2003 has been weaker than envisaged under the program. The impact of softer domestic demand, reflecting mainly the...

This 2002 Article IV Consultation highlights that the real GDP of the United Kingdom increased at an average rate of some 2.8 percent, and the unemployment rate halved to below 5 percent by April 2001. Inflation, which has been low since the mid-1990s, was—on a harmonized...