This Background Paper and Statistical Appendix reviews the real economy and systemic reforms in the Republic of Kazakhstan during 1993–94. In early 1994, the Kazakh authorities launched a major stabilization program to improve the financial situation and reinforce the structural reforms. A...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes fiscal management and strategy for growth for Vanuatu. It presents an overview of recent fiscal policy and outcomes. The main structural changes in the financial sector since independence in 1980 are discussed. The paper highlights some key features common to...

This Selected Issues paper provides an overview of past growth performance and an assessment of the outlook for growth in Timor-Leste. It identifies impediments to growth and discusses policies that would contribute to the accelerated rates of growth needed to reduce poverty and unemployment and...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the main determinants of inflation in Mongolia using empirical tests based on a structural model approach and vector autoregression model, with a view to assessing whether inflation is predominantly affected by commodity prices or by money supply developments....

This Selected Issues paper provides a quantitative assessment of the determinants of inflation in Slovenia, and evaluates the likelihood of the Maastricht inflation criterion being met. It concludes that on the basis of currently identified policies, Slovene inflation will likely remain above...

This Selected Issues paper on Sri Lanka reviews several issues that highlight both Sri Lanka’s accomplishments and their policy constraints amidst a protracted period of civil conflict and political instability. High intermediation costs have held back development of the financial sector and...

This Selected Issues paper discusses several features of the Slovene economy that may explain the weak relationship between credit and domestic demand growth. It reviews credit growth developments in Slovenia and in selected European Union new member states, and compares their experiences with...

This Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix paper analyzes the budget deviations in Malawi, their reasons, and the consequences for the fiscal policy process. It documents the observed deviations of outturn to plan in Malawi, analyzes the reasons for such deviations, outlines some of the...

This paper discusses commodity prices might serve as a useful leading indicator of inflation, based on the relative importance of flexible auction markets for the determination of these prices. They thus may have a tendency to respond relatively quickly, especially in response to monetary...

This paper describes the functioning of labor markets and to eliminate other structural obstacles to noninflationary growth. The decline in the price level in the home country will involve a rise in the real money supply and, if output is sluggish, this will result in an excess supply of money....