This paper analyzes the origins, implications, and solutions for the Asian financial crisis. From the perspective of a member of the Executive Board of the IMF, as Asian problems were building, the IMF overlooked weaknesses in bank and corporate balance sheets in much of Asia: the IMF was...

The paper takes stock of the impact of the global financial crisis that began in late 2007 on banking sectors of Asian low-income countries, by exploring bank-level data provided by Bankscope. The paper examines three key channels of possible crisis spillovers: exposures to (i) valuation changes...

This paper undertakes a cross-country analysis of productivity growth at both the aggregate and sectoral level. It finds that Asia''s remarkable output growth over the past 40 years reflected both high investment, and rapid productivity increases. These factors were in turn supported by the...

This report provides an update of the assessment of Lao P.D.R.'s macroeconomic conditions and outlook presented at the time of the 2004 Article IV Consultation and in the Assessment Letter of March 10, 2005

Assessment Letters or Statements may be prepared for member countries with Fund-supported programs; receiving Fund emergency assistance; with staff-monitored programs; or surveillance-only cases. They are typically produced for use by the country with multilateral or bilateral donors or creditors,...

Assessment Letters or Statements may be prepared for member countries with Fund-supported programs; receiving Fund emergency assistance; with staff-monitored programs; or surveillance-only cases. They are typically produced for use by the country with multilateral or bilateral donors or creditors,...

Technical Assistance Delivery by Long-Term Experts are an increasingly important vehicle for delivering TA in all financial sector areas. In recent years, the amount of MCM TA provided through LTEs has been about 28 staff years annually, or 36 percent of MCM's total TA field delivery (including...