This paper is based on an internal report prepared by the IMF staff in connection with the application of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (Czechoslovakia) for membership in the IMF. The paper surveys the economic system that had developed up to the time of the reforms begun in 1987 and...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix examines external competitiveness and the exchange rate for the Slovak Republic. The paper describes two simple types of competitiveness indicators: (i) real effective exchange rate measures, which examine underlying fundamentals thought to...

This paper reviews economic developments in the Slovak Republic during 1994–97. In 1996, a large current account deficit emerged as domestic demand surged by more than 20 percent. At the same time, fiscal policy became expansionary, with the fiscal position turning from surplus to deficit....

This paper reviews economic developments in Slovakia during 1995–96. Slovakia registered an impressive macroeconomic performance in 1995, among the best within the transition economies. Growth accelerated to 7.5 percent in 1995 from an already high rate of 5 percent in 1994, and inflation fell...

This Selected Background Issues paper examines the gap between Slovak and Czech unemployment rates. The paper investigates the reasons why the Slovak unemployment rate has been considerably higher than the Czech unemployment rate. The paper highlights that the predominant cause is that...

The government has begun implementing an ambitious program of banking sector and enterprise reform in 1999. A key aspect of this program is the restructuring and privatization of three large state-owned banks. As a by-product of the bank restructuring, the bad assets carved out from the banks...

During 1996–98, the measured fiscal deficits have substantially underestimated the extent of the fiscal problem in Slovakia. Amid these signs of vulnerability, the present government has assumed office in October 1998, and embarked on policies to restore macroeconomic balances and lay the...

The Slovak economy showed recovery from sharp recession. Executive Directors suggested that restoring fiscal sustainability and removing unemployment while maintaining external competitiveness within the monetary union should be given priority. The fiscal consolidation strategy could be...

The economy is emerging from a deep recession. The downturn has, however, exacerbated the unemployment problem. The authorities and IMF staff agreed that the recession represents a permanent loss of potential output and lower potential growth. Relatively sound fiscal policies in the pre-crisis...

This paper presents the Slovak Republic’s Financial System Stability Assessment Update including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Banking Supervision and Insurance Regulation. Commercial banks are by far the dominant financial institutions, though nonbank financial...