This Selected Issues paper reviews recent developments in growth and employment in Bulgaria and highlights key constraints to growth suggested by cross-country competitiveness studies. Bulgaria’s GDP has grown substantially since economic and financial stabilization in 1997. The global...

In this paper, the following statistical data are presented in detail: gross domestic product, savings and investment, production of major marketed crops, marketed livestock, industrial production by sector, prices of petroleum products, transport and communication activity, import prices of oil...

This paper reviews economic developments in the Republic of Mozambique during 1990–96. Under the Economic and Social Rehabilitation Program (ESRP), the economy has made impressive economic gains. Real GDP growth averaged 6.7 percent in 1987–95, despite the civil war, a decline in...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix analyzes developments in the domestic economy of Uzbekistan. The paper highlights that after declining by 17½ percent during 1992–94, real GDP fell by only about 1 percent in 1995. The moderation in the output decline was due in part...

The economic growth of Moldova continued to be strong during the Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (EGPRSP) implementation period despite external shocks. Macroeconomic management remained prudent in reducing public external debt. The government has approved National...

This paper presents a Joint Staff Advisory Note on the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. Excessive domestic bank financing of the budget deficit could crowd out the private sector, increase pressure on reserve and inflation targets, and, given the...

Developing and transition economies are prone to financial crises, including balance of payments and banking crises. These crises affect poverty and the distribution of income through a variety of channels: slowdowns in economic activity, relative price changes, and fiscal retrenchment, among...

This paper presents the Joint Staff Assessment of Tanzania’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Progress Report. Despite a drought, real economic growth is estimated to have been about 5 percent, sound macroeconomic management was maintained, and notable progress was made in the...

This paper examines Moldova’s Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (EGPRSP) covering 2004–06. The EGPRSP has the potential to become an effective tool for continuous strategic planning, and for providing for the prioritization of strategic objectives and the...