The paper discusses the interrelationships between payments system reform and monetary policy implementation in selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The reforms in the payments system are viewed as closely interrelated with the development of money and foreign exchange markets and...

This paper reviews key areas of central banking reform in a sample of centrally planned economies undergoing transition to market-based systems. The discussion draws mainly on the experiences of four countries, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and China. Significant efforts have been made, or...

This evaluation of technical assistance (TA) and training in statistics looks at the experience of two transition economies, Albania and Georgia, during roughly the period 2005-2010. The TA, including the training, to these countries covered all the topical areas on which the IMF's Statistics...

Executive Directors commend the government for successfully completing the Living Standard Measurement Survey. There is a need to improve governance, and the fight against corruption has to be prioritized crosscutting all reforms in the strategy. Maintaining a stable macroeconomic environment...

This paper discusses key finding of the Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) on the Banking Supervision and Payment Systems in Albania. The assessment reveals that the Albanian financial system is not highly vulnerable to...

The phenomenon of substantial peacetime budget deficits over the past20 years has been traced to the burden of entitlements, a slowdown ineconomic productivity, and demographic and macroeconomic shifts in theindustrial countries. Though smaller and structurally different, deficitsin developing...

Albania’s Third Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility is analyzed. Albania has reached a pivotal stage in its economic development. Increasing foreign direct investment and rapid financial sector development point to a faster convergence toward...

Albania enjoyed strong growth with comparatively benign external vulnerabilities before the crisis. Monetary policy provided timely support, and the exchange rate functioned as a shock absorber. However, policy buffers are now exhausted and must be rebuilt. Fiscal tightening has to be quickly...

This paper examines developments in Albania’s income distribution and poverty during the transition to a market-oriented economy. It pays particular attention to the impact of price liberalization on the agricultural terms of trade and production, the decline in state enterprise employment,...

This paper describes a evolution of the financial system in Albania. The paper highlights that a two-tier banking system was created following passage of a new Central Bank Law and Commercial Banking Law in April 1992. The State Bank of Albania became the Bank of Albania and retained only the...