This paper surveys the fiscal landscape of Latin America. It analyzes external and domestic factors that over the years led to the deterioration of the fiscal accounts. It also discusses difficulties that are encountered in pursuing a sound fiscal policy under inflationary conditions. Issues...

This paper reviews economic developments in the Comoros during 1992–95. The economic performance of the Comoros during 1991–94 was characterized by real growth of about 1.6 percent a year on average, large financial imbalances, an eroding export base, and the accumulation of large domestic...

This paper examines Dominica’s 2002 Article IV Consultation and a Request for Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The authorities' program for 2002/03, for which support through a one-year SBA is being requested, is aimed at restoring order to the public finances and relaxing the cash constraint to...

This 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that Malawi’s macroeconomic performance has improved significantly over the past two years, and the country’s agricultural-based economy has weathered the global economic storm relatively well. Good weather and the distribution of subsidized...

Despite the global financial and economic crisis, implementation of the government’s economic and financial program was broadly satisfactory. Growth was sustained, and the balance of payments improved markedly. The implementation of structural reforms with regard to state enterprises and the...

This Article IV Consultation reports that the economic growth of Mauritania is robust, which reflected prudent economic management, sustained donor support, and the beginning of oil production. Executive Directors observed that the return of constitutional order to Mauritania has established a...

Many Latin American economies have experienced significant reductions in growth recently, as a result of the end of the commodity super-cycle and the rebalancing of China's growth, and a number of global banks have been leaving the region. AlthoughLatin American countries were generally less...

The five Regional Economic Outlooks published biannually by the IMF cover Asia and Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. In each volume, recent economic developments and prospects for the region are discussed as a whole, as well as for...

This study takes stock of the institutional reform of monetary policy in Latin America since the early 1990s. It argues that strengthening the legal independence of central banks, together with macroeconomic policies, was instrumental in reducing inflation from three-digit annual rates in the...

This paper highlights that central banks from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru (the LA5 countries) reaped the benefits of what they sowed in successfully weathering the global crisis. The adoption of far-reaching institutional, policy, and operational reforms during the last two decades...