Countries in the Middle East and North Africa region have unprecedented opportunities for transforming their economies through accelerated economic growth, but the countries themselves must ensure the necessary conditions. This study, by the Middle Eastern Department, focuses on four areas that...

Strong fundamentals and a policy track record helped Mexico to withstand the fallout from the global crisis and aided recovery. The policy challenges have to take due account of significant global uncertainty, employment generation, and long-term fiscal reforms. The economy will benefit from...

Economic developments in Hungary during 1995-97 illustrate one of the most remarkable cases of macroeconomic adjustment in Europe over the last decade. Several momentous steps in the integration of the Hungarian economy with the rest of Europe and the industrial countries community took place....

This paper examines Tanzania’s 2004 Article IV Consultation and Second Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Tanzania has continued to maintain macroeconomic stability and to make substantial progress in structural reform. Real GDP growth has...

Despite Mexico’s recent remarkable progress in adjusting its fiscal and external accounts and in restructuring its economy, the recovery of growth has remained elusive. This paper reviews some aspects of Mexico’s recent performance and suggests that systemic adjustment uncertainty, and...

This paper examines economic developments and policies in Canada during 1990–95. Spurred by the robust growth in the United States and the easing of monetary conditions between 1991 and 1993, economic growth in Canada continued to strengthen during 1994. Real GDP grew by 4.5 percent in 1994...

Sound macroeconomic management, supported by structural reform, has characterized Albania's performance under the current Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement, although poverty and emigration remain pervasive. Privatization is moving forward in the telecommunications sector...

The Medium Term Plan (MTP) identifies the key policy actions and reforms, as well as programs and projects that the Grand Coalition Government in Kenya intends to implement. The overall objective is to realize a higher and sustainable growth of the economy in a more equitable environment,...

This paper presents the staff report for Norway’s 2009 Article IV Consultation on economic developments and policies. Unemployment remains low, and key short-term indicators point to a continued recovery. Norway’s resilience has been underpinned by substantial macroeconomic stimulus, buoyant...

Islam proposes the replacement of an interest-based financial system with one which operates on the basis of risk and profit sharing. Using a general equilibrium model, this paper investigates some open-economy implications of the adoption of Islamic banking for growth and stabilization of the...