The financial turmoil of the late 1990s prompted a broad search for tools and techniques for detecting and preventing financial crises, and more recent episodes of instability have high lighted the importance of continuous monitoring of financial systems as a tool for preventing crises. This...

Rebalancing in Spain’s private sector is under way, but with more modest progress on reducing stocks. Spain is subject to significant spending pressures, reflecting unfavorable demographic trends and subdued growth prospects, and will require substantial structural reform. Priority...

This Selected Issues paper for Belgium evaluates whether price increases in Belgium are excessive. It assesses the household and bank balance sheets and their vulnerability to a slowdown in housing prices, and identifies differences in real estate markets between Belgium and other countries. The...

Sharp increase in house prices combined with the extraordinary Chinese lending growth during 2009 has led to concerns of an emerging real estate bubble. We find that, for China as a whole, the current levels of house prices do not seem significantly higher than would be justified by underlying...

This report reviews the macroeconomic determinants of the rapid growth in the Spanish housing market, including various policy elements. It examines the vulnerabilities of households' finances as a result of the rapid growth of housing prices and mortgage debt. It also describes the Spanish...

For most citizens, buying a residential property (dwelling) is the most important transaction during their lifetime. Residential properties represent the most significant component of households’ expenses and, at the same time, their most valuable assets. The Residential Property Prices...

This Work Program (WP) translates the policy priorities and strategic directions laid out in the Fall 2016 Global Policy Agenda (GPA) and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Communique into an Executive Board agenda for the next six-twelve months. The Managing Director's...

The Managing Director's Global Policy Agenda (GPA) presented to the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) in April called on member countries to reinforce their commitment to strong, sustainable, inclusive, job-rich, and more balanced global growth and to employ a three-pronged...

The Managing Director's Global Policy Agenda (GPA) presented to the IMFC in April identified a range of actions needed to bolster today's actual and tomorrow's potential output, diminish risks, and confront emerging global challenges. These actions included calibrating fiscal adjustment to...

This Work Program (WP) translates the strategic directions and policy priorities laid out in the Fall 2017 Global Policy Agenda (GPA) and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Communique into an Executive Board agenda for the next twelve months, with a focus on the next six...