This paper examines Colombia’s 2002 Article IV Consultation and Request for Stand-By Arrangement. The economic situation worsened in the first half of 2002. Economic activity has remained sluggish, and the fiscal consolidation has gone off-track. Exacerbated by increased contagion from...

The government’s strong monetary and fiscal policy framework, as well as the structural reforms introduced, have enabled the Canadian economy to respond flexibly to recent shocks and laid a solid foundation for recovery. Macroeconomic policies should remain supportive, with fiscal policy...

This Selected Issues paper of the United Kingdom analyzes the official projections of public pension spending and risks, as well as the strategy to increase private pension provision. It provides a comparison of stylized facts regarding business cycle developments in the three economies, and an...

In this paper, we describe the changes of (early) retirement programs over time and study the link between trends in elderly labor force participation and youth unemployment. From a theoretical point of view, there is no convincing argument that the idea of a lump-of-labor should hold. Our...

The present paper reviews key issues in pension design and pension reform encountered all across the world. The paper heavily refers to the recent U.S. Social Security reform debate in general and to the Personal Retirement Accounts proposal in particular. A particular emphasis is put on...

This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Republic of Korea is enjoying its longest uninterrupted period of economic expansion since the Asian crisis. Growth reached 5 percent in 2006, buoyed by strong exports, and is only expected to slow marginally to 4¾ percent this year. The...

Increasing integration to the East has benefited the Austrian economy, but also created vulnerabilities that came to a head with the global financial crisis. The crisis has highlighted old challenges and created new ones that need to be addressed. The banking sector’s return to more...

This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is enjoying its second year of vigorous economic growth. Financial sector indicators have strengthened, but balance sheet vulnerabilities remain. Executive Directors have welcomed St. Vincent and the...

This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Norwegian economy is set to grow strongly in 2007 for the fourth consecutive year. This economic performance is underpinned by strong monetary and fiscal policy frameworks. External demand, both for petroleum products and other Norwegian...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.