This Selected Issues paper for the Russian Federation discusses existing empirical efforts to measure the determinants of cross-country financial integration. Empirical studies that have adopted the gravity-model framework have found that it is generally successful in explaining bilateral...

This technical note for the Republic of Poland on competition and performance explains the Polish pension system and domestic capital market. Competition policies may need to be reviewed, in particular the combination of measures to maintain small pension funds operating while imposing strict...

While Thailand's pension system is typically described as a multipillar pension scheme, its design is highly fragmented and offers adequate coverage only to a small segment of the population, including civil servants and high-income individuals. In its 2018 Article IV report, the IMF highlighted...

In March 1999, Poland implemented a systemic pension reform that involved the introduction of a multi-pillar pension system to replace the defined benefit (DB), pay-as-you-go (PAYG) system that had been operating since 1949. This technical note on the pension sector was elaborated as part of the...

This paper presents a technical note on Mexico’s Financial Sector Assessment Program update. The Mexican experience displays interesting characteristics that provide lessons for other countries that still need to design the decumulation phase of their newly established second pillars. The...

The 2006 Article IV Consultation on San Marino explains financial sector development and stability. A wide-ranging reform of the regulatory framework and supervision is under way to modernize the financial sector and make it conform to international standards. Executive Directors encouraged to...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that Italy’s economy is enjoying a broad-based, if comparatively modest, cyclical upswing. Output is estimated to have grown by 1¾ percent in 2006—the strongest pace since the beginning of the decade. Inflation is close to that of the...

This paper discusses the Financial System Stability Assessment for South Africa, and reviews the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Securities Regulation. The assessment reveals that South Africa’s sophisticated financial system is fundamentally sound and has so far...

An externally driven economic recovery has continued gathering strength in 2010 in Luxembourg. Executive Directors welcomed this development and the authorities’ supportive fiscal policy in 2010 as well as their role in stabilizing the financial sector. According to the Financial Sector...