The penetration level of the insurance and pension sectors in Malawi is low, but it seems adequate as compared with other countries in similar stages of development. Concentration and costs are high, the regulatory framework is outdated or inexistent and supervision is weak. An innovative pilot...

Of the new members entering the European Union (EU) in May 2004, several had achieved a decade of impressive export growth, expanding significantly their shares of world markets. The empirical analysis shows that over the period 1994–2004, quality and technology upgrading associated with the...

The spike in Slovenian inflation in 2007–08 has shown how structural bottlenecks may hamper Slovenian growth in the future. This Selected Issues paper investigates the role of supply factors and demand-side effects in explaining this surge. The paper concludes that the spike in Slovenian...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country