This supplement presents country case studies reviewing energy subsidy reform experiences, which are the basis for the reform lessons identified in the main paper. The selection of countries for the case studies reflects the availability of data and of previously documented evidence on...

One plausible mechanism through which financial market shocks may propagate across countries is through the effect of past gains and losses on investors'' risk aversion. We first present a simple model on how heterogeneous changes in investors'' risk aversion affect portfolio decisions and stock...

When the exchange rate fluctuates and the market exhibits hysteresis, planning horizons of domestic and foreign competitors will matter in determining pass-through as well as relative market shares of these firms. Using the Cournot duopoly model, it is shown that if the foreign exporter is a...

This Selected Issues paper for the Russian Federation reviews trends in private capital flows to Russia by decomposing the flows into its subcomponents. Russia became a net lender to the international banking system, as a complement to the prolonged period of large current account surpluses. The...

This simulation-based paper investigates the impact of different methods of dynamic provisioning on bank soundness and shows that this increasingly popular macroprudential tool can smooth provisioning costs over the credit cycle and lower banks’ probability of default. In addition, the...

Capital market development in Brazil is a key policy issue going forward to foster savings, investment and absorptive capacity in a context of prospects for sizable capital flows in the medium term. During the last decade, Brazil has achieved substantial progress in capital market development....

The Korean economy is slowing in the face of strong global headwinds. It is projected to bottom out during the course of 2012, regaining momentum towards the end of the year, in line with the global recovery. The main short-term risk to the outlook is a further intensification of the euro area...

This 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that India’s medium-term growth prospects remain bright. Prompt fiscal and monetary easing, combined with the fiscal stimulus already in the pipeline and the return of risk appetite in financial markets, have brought growth close to pre-crisis...

Croatia’s economy is also saddled with more pervasive rigidities and higher government involvement than many of its transition peers. The Croatian National Bank (CNB) pursued proactive policies, which helped ensure financial sector stability. A stable nominal exchange rate provided an...

Singapore’s economy is slowing against the backdrop of a deteriorating external environment and a softening of exports. The main near-term risks are a protracted slowdown in advanced economies and a sharp increase in global financial stress. Given Singapore’s openness, these shocks...