This guidance note was prepared by International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group staff under a project undertaken with the support of grants from the Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening Initiative, (FIRST).The aim of the project was to deliver a report that provides emerging...

Two years ago, citizens in the Arab world—fired by their ideals and visions of a better life—ignited a social movement that inspired people around the globe. In Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen—the so-called Arab countries in transition—people embraced change, ushering...

By combating malaria with mosquito nets or building schools and providing basic sanitation, philanthropy is helping transform the developing world. Rich donors are devoting fortunes—many of them earned through computer software, entertainment, and venture capitalism— to defeating poverty and...

Low-income countries (LICs) face significant challenges in meeting their development objectives while maintaining a sustainable debt position. The international community's main answer to this dilemma has been to promote recourse to concessional external resources. The Fund's recommendations to...

This paper discusses findings of the joint IMF–World Bank Indonesia Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) undertaken during 2009– 10. The assessment was conducted on processes and functions, as opposed to institutions and with the cooperation of the Bapepam-LK, the Bank Indonesia. It...

This technical note on financing of the private sector for Mexico describes the evolution, composition, and determinants of financing to the nonfinancial private sector in Mexico between 2000 and 2005. Equity issuance has not played an important role in financing the private sector in Mexico...

This staff report on People’s Republic of China 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights macroeconomic developments and outlook. China has maintained robust growth since the global crisis, but the heavy reliance on credit and investment to sustain activity is raising vulnerabilities. The...

India’s financial system compares favorably internationally, but rising credit risk and liquidity pressures are putting it under strain. The staff report for India’s 2008 Article IV Consultation discusses economic developments and policies. The authorities have already taken...

This Selected Issues paper discusses the effectiveness of monetary policy in the euro area in the context of the financial crisis, the need for special resolution regimes for financial institutions in the European Union (EU), and the proposed new EU financial stability arrangements. The paper...

The slow-paced growth rate of the U.S. economy, notwithstanding the bolstering attempts is disheartening. Implementing financial reforms and highly accommodative monetary policy are hoped to have a desired effect. Deficit reduction, debt ratio stabilizing strategies, removal of fiscal cliff...