This paper develops and tests a model of Japan’s household savings rate, based on the life-cycle hypothesis that the primary motive for savings is provision for retirement. The paper shows that Japan’s high household savings rate in recent decades reflects the positive influence of rapid...

Almost all formal small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Jamaica have access to checking or saving accounts, but the financial sector is scarcely used to finance their investments. The lack of funding for the SME sector, or its high cost, has a negative impact on entrepreneurship and business...

The assessment of the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) system of the Union of the Comoros was based on the 2003 Forty Recommendations and the 2001 Nine Special Recommendations developed by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force). It was prepared according...

This second edition of the Reference Guide is a comprehensive source of practical information on how countries can fight money laundering and terrorist financing. Aimed at helping countries understand the new international standards, it discusses the problems caused by these crimes, the specific...

Low-income countries (LICs) face significant challenges in meeting their development objectives while maintaining a sustainable debt position. The international community's main answer to this dilemma has been to promote recourse to concessional external resources. The Fund's recommendations to...

The following is the provisional agenda for the Twenty-First Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, which is to be convened at the Fund's Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, April 24, 2010. A joint working dinner of IMFC members and G-20 ministers will be held...