This 2005 Article IV Consultation for Ireland reports that economic performance has been impressive, owing in significant measure to sound policies. In line with the global cycle, growth picked up strongly in 2004. Rapid employment growth has been supported by immigration, so the unemployment...

This paper examines Honduras’s 2005 Article IV Consultation and Second Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. In the period 1960–2000, output growth in Honduras ranked among the lowest in the region. During the 1990s, when growth recovered in the rest of Central...

Wage setters take into account the future consequences of their current wage choices in the presence of downward nominal wage rigidities. Several interesting implications arise. First, a closed-form solution for a long-run Phillips curve relates average unemployment to average wage inflation;...

The 2007 Article IV Consultation explains Romania’s fiscal and income policies and financial sector issues. The economic outlook is clouded by a widening current account imbalance and the risk of a resurgence of inflation pressures, as a result of strong domestic demand that is being...

The 2006 Article IV Consultation found that the financial system in Ireland continues to perform well but rapid credit growth is a vulnerability. Central Bank officials noted that recent stress tests indicate that the major lenders have adequate buffers to cover a range of shocks. The Financial...

This Selected Issues paper examines competitiveness and the equilibrium real exchange rate for Ghana. It estimates a behavioral equilibrium exchange rate model for Ghana to establish to what extent real effective exchange rate (REER) movements have been driven by an adjustment to its equilibrium...

Economic conditions have stabilized, and the economy is projected to bottom out in 2010, giving way to a mild recovery in 2011 followed by stronger growth. The foremost policy challenge is to achieve the official fiscal consolidation targets so as to put debt ratios on a declining path and...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that macroeconomic results for Romania were not as strong in 2005 compared with 2004 on account of both internal and external factors. Growth slowed to 4.1 percent in 2005, with agricultural output falling as a result of floods, and industrial output...

The financial sector is mostly comprised of the banking sector, which largely provides insurance and asset management services. A large part of banking system assets relates to subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks. The banking sector poses risks by virtue of its size and concentration. The...

This 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that despite its resilience so far, the economy of Cyprus is slowing down and risks are increasing. The expected slowdown will increase credit risk in banks, which, in some plausible but unlikely extreme scenarios, could have systemic implications...