This paper examines the external sustainability and competitiveness of Benin’s economy. Balance of payments flows suggest Benin’s external position is sustainable. Large trade and current account deficits are comfortably financed by inflows through the capital and financial...

This Selected Issues Paper and Statistical Appendix for Niger are discussed. The Nigerien economic outlook has been improving since 1999. After a long period of decline in per capita income, growth accelerated through 2007, attaining an annual average of 4 percent, or about 1 percent in per...

Many arguments that have been advanced in favor of maintaining capital controls within the EC have not paid sufficient attention to the welfare consequences of this type of market intervention. Our paper provides a simple, optimizing framework in which the welfare consequences of capital...

Upon entry into the European Union, countries become members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), with a derogation from adopting the euro as their currency (that is, each country joining the EU commits to replace its national currency with the euro, but can choose when to request...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix analyzes causes and consequences of real exchange rate appreciation in Albania. The paper highlights that Albania has experienced a sustained real appreciation since 1992, which appears to have been brought about by largely beneficial...

This Selected Issues paper reviews indicators for external competitiveness in Hungary. The paper examines recent developments in a range of indicators. These include regional comparisons of wage and unit labor cost developments, and standard indicators based on price and cost-based measures of...

Large inflows from the European Union to the New Member States are likely to significantlyimpact macroeconomic outcomes. In this paper, we use the IMF's Global Integrated Monetaryand Fiscal model (GIMF) to analyze the impact of the transfers and show the conditionsunder which they would help...

This Selected Issues paper estimates an equilibrium path for South Africa’s real effective exchange rate. The paper briefly describes the dynamics of the real exchange rate and its determinants. It investigates the presence of a long-term relationship between the real exchange rate and...

Over the past decade or so, Tunisia has experienced a strong economic performance while pursuing a constant real exchange rate rule (CRERR). The limitations of this rule are now beginning to emerge in the context of a more open economy, regional integration, a more market-based monetary policy,...

This paper analyzes competitiveness in the Baltics in the run-up to European Union accession. Several factors appear to have driven movements in equilibrium real exchange rates in the Baltics since the start of the transition process. In the earlier years of transition, price liberalization,...