This paper discusses key findings of the Third Review under the Stand-By Arrangement for Georgia. With monetary policy impaired by high dollarization, the authorities’ response to the downturn relies mostly on fiscal stimulus. The reduction of policy interest rates and ample liquidity...

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...

This 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s vulnerability at the outset of the global crisis was its large current account deficit in the context of the exchange rate peg to the euro. At the same time, it benefited from a small fiscal...

The staff report for the 2008 Article IV Consultation of Trinidad and Tobago highlights economic developments and policies. Faced with a prospective decline in energy resources, the government has embarked on an ambitious development and diversification strategy. External vulnerability is low as...

This Selected Issues paper reviews the benefits and costs of reserves for Chile, with emphasis on standard methodologies for assessing reserve adequacy. It reports an empirical methodology that analyzes simultaneously key explanatory variables behind a country’s level of reserves. The...

This 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Uzbek economy has performed well in recent years. The favorable external environment and improvements in macroeconomic policies resulted in high growth rates, large current account surpluses, a significant decline in the debt burden, and a...

This paper discusses key findings of the Sixth Review for Uganda Under the Policy Support Instrument. Structural rigidities continue to pose challenges to macroeconomic management in Uganda. Persistent weaknesses in project implementation coupled with rigidities in domestic financial markets...

A strong policy framework and improved income distribution and social outcomes have been important accomplishments in Brazil. The 2012 Article IV Consultation highlights that financial stability in Brazil has been underpinned by a strong banking system and framework for regulation and...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic growth in Ghana continued at a robust pace of 8 percent in 2012 amid rising fiscal and external imbalances. Fiscal pressures came to the fore in a mounting public sector wage bill and costly energy subsidies that pushed the deficit close...

This paper presents the staff report for Peru’s 2008 Article IV Consultation, Fourth Review and Inflation Consultation under the Stand-By Arrangement and request for waiver of applicability of performance criteria. Peru has been liberalizing external trade through tariff reductions in...