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.

This paper examines Lesotho’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Progress Report for the period between January and December 2002. The achievements demonstrate that the government of Lesotho has reaffirmed its commitment to a highly participatory approach and process of preparing a...

The paper provides a detailed description of a novel dataset on education attainment in public administrations covering the period 1981-2011 for 178 countries. The dataset uses information extracted from CVs for over 130,000 mid to senior level officials from mainly central banks and ministries...

This paper presents Jamaica’s Third Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria report. The IMF staff report highlights that recent data is in-line with GDP growth of some 1 percent in 2013–2014....

This Joint Staff Advisory Note focuses on the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) for Sudan. I-PRSP provides a useful stock taking of the socioeconomic situation in Sudan and offers a good basis for the design and monitoring of growth and poverty reduction policies. It is the first...

This Selected Issues paper on Euro Area Policies 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights the monetary transmission mechanism and monetary policies. The European Central Bank has announced the Outright Monetary Transactions framework to address severe distortions in sovereign bond markets and...

This Selected Issues paper examines fiscal policy implications for labor market and economic diversification in Botswana. The IMF report analyzes that large public employment significantly affect labor market outcomes in middle-income countries, including Botswana. It is noted that reforms aimed...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recent data show a gradual economic recovery, with growth projected to reach just over 1 percent in 2014/15. Inflation has trended down to about 8 percent. The program is on track. Jamaica’s four-year, SDR 615.38 million (225 percent of quota) Extended Arrangement under...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes reforms to Mexico’s fiscal framework. Mexico’s resilient economic performance would be consolidated by increasing fiscal policy buffers and preparing for challenges associated with long-term budget pressures. In the short term, reducing public...