This paper discusses Romania’s Request for a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Since the 2008 global financial crisis, Romania has made significant progress in reducing macroeconomic imbalances and rebuilding fiscal and financial buffers. However, Romania remains vulnerable to external shocks,...

This paper argues that the large differences among EU countries in post-crisis employment performance are to a large extent driven by the need to adjust corporate balance sheets, which had greatly deteriorated during the boom years in some countries but not in others. To close the large gaps...

The Kyrgyz Republic is emerging from a deep political crisis. In April 2010, a popular uprising toppled the previous regime and internal ethnic conflict in June 2010 exacerbated the already difficult political situation. The crisis has adversely affected economic activity and near-term growth...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that Namibia recorded robust real GDP growth, falling inflation, a strong external current account surplus, and continued low external indebtedness over the last two years. Real GDP grew by 6 percent in 2004, as new marine technologies prompted a...

Italy’s deep-rooted structural problems resulted in an unsatisfactory productivity performance and a dismal growth over the last 15 years. The global financial crisis has exacerbated these long-standing weaknesses, taking a heavy toll on Italy’s economy. With output back to its...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the growth prospects of the Greek economy. It is estimated that exceptional factors boosted growth by 1 percentage point per year in recent years and, under current trends and policies, growth is likely to drop to about 3 percent by the end of the decade. The...

This paper estimates potential output and the output gap for Slovakia which enjoyed rapid growth with few signs of economic overheating in recent years. It applies two broad sets of approaches: conventional methods, represented by a statistical method and a production function approach; and a...