This Selected Issues paper on Portugal reviews the considerations regarding productivity slowdown. The favorable evolution of income growth from the 1970s to the mid-1990s in Portugal was associated with above-average productivity growth but also reflected a more moderate decline in the amount...

Real unit labor costs (RULC) growth differentials between euro area members have persisted since EMU began and even widened out in the run-up to the crisis. This paper focuses on the causes underlying such dispersion. According to our empirical findings, persistent RULC growth differentials can...

This paper assesses Estonia’s flexibility from two angles. The paper focuses on one aspect of that performance—the ability to sustain competitiveness. Then, a more forward-looking angle is the flexibility of Estonia’s labor and product markets. Estonia has made great...

The joint World Bank- International Monetary Fund (IMF) Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) to the countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) was carried out in September and October of 2003. The assessment covered the following: (i) stability issues, including banking...

The insurance sector is underdeveloped and has been inadequately supervised to date, as the regulator lacks the requisite independence, skills, and resources. The three public pension systems, which cover less than 10 percent of the active population, appear to be fiscally unsustainable. The...

This Detailed Assessment Report reviews antimoney laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures for Germany. The report reveals that Germany has introduced a number of measures in recent years to strengthen its AML/CFT regime. Germany has generated a relatively large...

This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that Malta’s economic recovery is gaining traction, owing in large part to cyclical strength and some structural change. A public investment boom, financed largely by grants from the European Union, reignited growth in 2005. A modest recovery...

The Isle of Man (IOM) is recognized for the expertise developed in a range of international financial products. The paper also presents a Detailed Assessment of Observance of Antimoney laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) report on the IOM. The IOM authorities are placing...