This paper reviews economic developments in St. Lucia during 1990–95. During 1991–92, economic growth slowed to an average of 5 percent (from 9 percent achieved in the late 1980s) as banana production stagnated, and in spite of strong growth of construction and tourism. In 1993–94, real...

This 2010 Article IV Consultation highlights that macroeconomic outcomes have weakened significantly for St. Lucia. Real GDP is estimated to have contracted by 5.2 percent in 2009, reflecting a sharp decline in visitor arrivals and construction activity related to foreign direct investment. For...

This paper discusses key findings of the Sixth Review under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for Benin. Benin’s macroeconomic outlook is weaker for 2009–10, reflecting the impact of the crisis. The implementation of structural reforms needs to be accelerated to enhance the...

This Selected Issues paper on St. Lucia examines challenges facing the Windward Islands banana industry with a focus on the socioeconomic impact and production recovery strategies. The paper focuses on St. Luciathe—region’s largest producer and most populous island. It reviews recent...

This paper reviews economic developments in Azerbaijan during the 1990s. In 1992, approximately 70–80 percent of producer and consumer prices were liberalized, and enterprises were allowed greater latitude in their price and wage setting. However, price controls were applied on energy and...

This Recent Economic Developments and Selected Economic Issues paper provides a broad overview of the structure of Namibia’s economy. It provides a detailed discussion of the structure and evolution of the productive base, recent trends in investment and savings performance, fiscal policies,...

This paper examines economic developments in Trinidad and Tobago during 1990–94. Economic activity in 1992–93 was severely affected by a fall in output in the oil/gas sector, a sharp drop in the average oil export price, and persisting weakness in the nonpetroleum sector. As a result, real...

Contents include: Real sector developments: output trends; sectoral developments; and income, wages, and prices. Public finances; fiscal balance; revenue developments; expenditure developments; social safety net. Financial sector developments; monetary and exchange rate developments; the use of...

This paper describes economic developments in Antigua and Barbuda during the 1990s. The growth of real GDP picked up to about 4 percent in 1993–94 on the strength of increased tourism while inflation remained low. The current account deficit of the public sector widened from less than 3...

This paper describes economic developments in Bhutan during the 1990s. The paper discusses the fiscal outcome in 1993/94 (July–June) and the main elements of the authorities’ budget proposals for 1994/95. It assesses monetary and credit developments, as well as the major initiatives adopted...