Trade among the CMEA countries will soon be conducted at world prices and in convertible currencies. These are crucial steps in economic reform but will worsen Eastern Europe’s terms of trade and drive it into current account deficit with the USSR. Proposals have been made for a payments...

This paper reviews the main features of market-oriented foreign trade reforms in planned economies. It considers reform initiatives aimed at expanding enterprise autonomy and breaking up the state monopoly of foreign trade, modifying the exchange rate system, and reforming the domestic price...

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde delivered this address at the Library of Congress as part of the Library's Henry A. Kissinger Lecture Series in Washington, D.C. on December 4, 2018

The scramble to expand deposit guarantees in Europe in response to recent financial turmoil confirms that the on-going integration of European financial markets requires closer coordination of prudential policies and financial safety nets. We study the optimal design of prudential supervision...

The global recovery continues. Although it is not yet complete, the more favorable conjuncture offers an opportunity to tackle key policy challenges to stave off medium-term downside risks, rebuild buffers, and raise potential output. Countries should undertake well-sequenced reforms to increase...

This letter provides an assessment of recent macroeconomic developments in Swaziland and an update on the discussions between IMF staff and the Swaziland authorities. Swaziland faces a fiscal crisis caused by an 11 percent of GDP drop in revenue payments from the Southern African Customs Union...

This paper provides an overview of the likely impact of the creation of the European Community (EC) internal market on the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members. The focus is on the four freedoms and the institutional and legal changes required for increased economic cooperation between...

This paper explains different features of the MULTI-region econometric MODel (MULTIMOD). MULTIMOD is designed to examine the effects on that baseline of scenarios that involve changes in policies in major countries and other exogenous changes in the economic environment. The Mark II version...