The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at end-2015 has brought into sharp focus the issue of financial and economic integration in the region. This paper takes stock of ASEAN’s financial integration and prospects. ASEAN integration could accelerate in the years ahead; it...

The “middle-income trap” is the phenomenon of hitherto rapidly growing economies stagnating at middle-income levels and failing to graduate into the ranks of high-income countries. In this study we examine the middle-income trap as a special case of growth slowdowns, which are identified as...

This paper focuses on the Fourth Review Under the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for Afghanistan. Under the SMP, Afghanistan continued to make progress in improving macroeconomic management, strengthening its capacity to formulate policy, and creating conditions for sustainable economic growth....

This Selected Issues paper on Morocco analyzes Morocco’s growth performance over the past thirty-five years with a special focus on the more recent past. The paper presents stylized trends in growth; it first puts the overall growth performance of Morocco in an international perspective,...

Over the past two decades, the growth rate of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from developing and transition economies has increased significantly. Given the role of physical capital accumulation in determining the economic growth rate, it is important to assess how domestic investment...

We develop a model to study the macroeconomic effects of public investment surges in low-income countries, making explicit: (i) the investment-growth linkages; (ii) public external and domestic debt accumulation; (iii) the fiscal policy reactions necessary to ensure debt-sustainability; and (iv)...

The staff report for the 2008 Article IV Consultation of the Federated States of Micronesia examines economic developments and policies. Growth could recover modestly in the near term as falling commodity prices boost real incomes and progress is made on spending unused compact infrastructure...

This paper discusses Armenia’s request for a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with exceptional access of 400 percent of quota. Given the urgency of the situation, the request is being considered under the Emergency Financing Mechanism. The new program aims to achieve the necessary external...

Estonia’s commitment to free markets and prudent financial policies has paid off handsomely. Demand pressures and rapid productivity growth have produced strong wage increases and large employment gains. Inflation, while moderate for a fast-converging economy, remains above the Maastricht...

This 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Uzbek economy has performed well in recent years. The favorable external environment and improvements in macroeconomic policies resulted in high growth rates, large current account surpluses, a significant decline in the debt burden, and a...