This Selected Issues paper of the United Kingdom analyzes the official projections of public pension spending and risks, as well as the strategy to increase private pension provision. It provides a comparison of stylized facts regarding business cycle developments in the three economies, and an...

The staff report for the 2004 Article IV Consultation on the Kingdom of the Netherlands—Netherlands highlights the economic developments and policies. The economy is beginning to emerge from an extended downturn. Meanwhile, against a background of soft labor market conditions and economic...

This review of financial sector regulation and supervision in Jersey in the context of the offshore financial center assessment program contains technical advice and recommendations. The report provides a general overview of the financial system, a summary of the assessment findings and the...

This assessment of the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision has been completed as part of the IMF Offshore Financial Center (OFC) assessment program. First, the assessment benchmarks the current state of banking supervision, recognizing that there have been extensive changes...

The completion of the detailed assessment serves several purposes. First, it benchmarks the current state of banking supervision, recognizing that there have been extensive changes in the last years. Second, it suggests a number of further improvements or changes. Thus, this report provides a...

This Netherlands’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that raising participation and productivity are important for boosting the economy potential and reducing pressures on the public finances in the face of population aging. The authorities have implemented or are in the process of...

This 2001 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Republic of Palau faces a number of development challenges. Substantial improvements in human and physical infrastructure are needed to sustain higher growth rates. About 80 percent of the land area is on the Babeldaob Island, which is...

This paper evaluates Turkey’s Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Since the completion of the Article IV Consultation and the first review in April 2002, macroeconomic policies have remained in line with the program. All quantitative performance criteria for end-March and...

This 2002 Article IV Consultation highlights that the real GDP of the United Kingdom increased at an average rate of some 2.8 percent, and the unemployment rate halved to below 5 percent by April 2001. Inflation, which has been low since the mid-1990s, was—on a harmonized basis—about 1.5...

This paper presents key findings of the Financial System Stability Assessment for the United Kingdom, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Banking Supervision, Insurance Supervision, Securities Regulation, Payments Systems, Monetary and Financial Policy Transparency, and...