Sweden’s quality of life, public health, and educational attainment indicators are among the best in the world. Although it is impossible to pin down the optimal size of the welfare state precisely, the government has generally agreed to have become too big by the late 1980s. Globalization is...

Good governance is important for countries at all stages of development. Our approach is to concentrate on those aspects of good governance that are most closely related to our surveillance over macroeconomic policies- namely, the transparency of government accounts, the effectiveness of public...

The macroeconomic stability of Sri Lanka is analyzed. Reflecting high domestic inflation relative to trading partners, the real effective exchange rate appreciated by 2 percent. Infrastructure development is a central element of the government’s medium-term development strategy. Further...

Sri Lanka’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that the fiscal deficit exceeded budget targets, and with a significant amount of government financing provided by the central bank, the growth in monetary aggregates increased, contributing to higher inflation. The near-term economic outlook is...

Since the last Article IV Consultation, the Sri Lankan economy has advanced on several fronts. However, the economic effects of the two-decade long civil conflict are yet to be overcome, and many challenges remain. Recently, heightened political uncertainty has constrained the government’s...