This paper focuses on Togo’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper adopted by the government in March 2008 has allowed Togo once again to benefit from international financial cooperation. With a view to improving political and economic governance, the...

This paper presents Haiti’s Sixth Review under the Extended Credit Facility and request for Waiver of Performance Criterion, and Augmentation of Access. Manufacturing activity would be hit the most, as the largest enterprises, including the important export textile sector, have been...

This paper uses multivariate dynamic panel analysis to examine the response of international financial flows to natural disasters. The models estimated for a large sample of developing countries point to differentiated responses of specific types of financial flows. The results show that...

Natural disaster risk is emerging as an increasingly important constraint on economic development and poverty reduction. This paper first sets out the key stylized facts in the area-that the costs of disaster have been increasing, seem set to continue to increase, and bear especially heavily on...

This paper discusses Mozambique’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper—Economic and Social Plan for 2005. In the international context, the paper presents the evolution of the international economy so as to understand under what economic conditions the country will have to implement...

Sri Lanka’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that the fiscal deficit exceeded budget targets, and with a significant amount of government financing provided by the central bank, the growth in monetary aggregates increased, contributing to higher inflation. The near-term economic...

This paper reviews the Maldives’s Use of IMF Resources and Request for Emergency Assistance. The authorities have requested a purchase of an amount equivalent to SDR 4.1 million (50 percent of quota) under the IMF’s policy on emergency assistance related to natural disasters. The...

This paper evaluates Sri Lanka’s Request for Emergency Assistance. The Sri Lankan authorities have requested a purchase in an amount of SDR 103.35 million under the IMF’s policy for emergency assistance related to natural disasters. In line with IMF policy for Poverty Reduction and...

Natural disasters are an important source of vulnerability in the Caribbean region. Despite being one of the more disaster-prone areas of the world, it has one of the lowest levels of insurance coverage. This paper examines the vulnerability of Belize's public finance to the occurrence of...

Each year natural disasters affect about 200 million people and cause about $50 billion in damage. This paper compares the incidence of natural disasters across countries along several dimensions and finds that the relative costs tend to be far higher in developing countries than in advanced...