Anecdotal evidence relates corruption with high levels of military spending. This paper tests empirically whether such a relationship exists. The empirical analysis is based on data from four different sources for up to 120 countries in the period 1985–98. The association between military...

Anecdotal evidence relates corruption with high levels of military spending. This paper tests empirically whether such a relationship exists. The empirical analysis is based on data from four different sources for up to 120 countries in the period 1985–98. The association between military...

This paper examines how military spending has been affected by Fund-supported programs. It looks at the changes in military expenditure as a share of gross domestic product (MIL/GDP) and of total expenditure (MIL/EX) for two subsamples of Fund-supported programs, broadly divided into fiscal...

Côte d’Ivoire's government decided on the National Development Plan to give a new impetus to its development policy. This new strategy is based on an ambitious and realistic recovery and development program centered on private and public investment. The institutional monitoring framework for...

The empirical study shows that the equilibrium real exchange rate in Mauritius has been affected by the terms of trade, as well as by other fundamental determinants. It assesses the challenges posed to Mauritius’s trade performance by the expiration of the preferential trade arrangements....

This Selected Issues paper provides a preliminary view on Afghanistan’s external competitiveness through a review of some macroeconomic, microeconomic, and institutional indicators. It discusses the rebuilding of domestic revenue, and analyzes the macroeconomic impact of the drug economy...

Mali’s territorial integrity is threatened, questioning its internal capacity to face challenges and especially to ensure the physical safety of goods and individuals. The government is committed to implement all measures to overcome this situation. More specifically, it will increase...

The paper focuses on the workings of the Medium-Term Development Program (MTDP) of the Kyrgyz Republic. Raising living standards as well as taking measures for reducing poverty have been cited as the main priority areas of the strategy, and the measures to be undertaken to bring about...

This paper discusses a request from Congo for the Rapid-Access Component of the Exogenous Shocks Facility. Performance on the 2008 staff-monitored program was mixed, complicated by the effects of the exogenous shock. Although weaknesses remain, the authorities strengthened public financial...

This Selected Issues paper explores the question of what kind of structural policies could boost productivity growth in small middle-income countries (SMICs), including Namibia. The findings suggest that although macroeconomic stability and trade openness are necessary for productivity growth,...