This Selected Issues Paper on Switzerland focuses on unprecedented currency appreciation and policy response. On September 6, 2011, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised the market by explicitly committing to defending a floor of 1.20 on the exchange rate of EUR/CHF. The introduction of the...

This Selected Issues paper for Indonesia uses a small structural macroeconomics model of the Indonesian economy to analyze the inflation outlook and monetary policy challenges. The Bank of Indonesia (BI) introduced its Inflation Targeting Framework in July 2005 with the goal to reduce inflation...

The IMF has approved an exceptional access Stand-By Arrangement for Latvia. The program is part of a coordinated international effort that has improved financial and economic stability. By early 2008, the fast growth has leveled off but severe vulnerabilities turned the slowdown into a crisis....

The staff report for the 2006 Article IV Consultation on Botswana highlights economic developments and monetary and exchange rate policy. Botswana’s growth has been fueled by continued increases in diamond production; and real diamond output is projected to level off, and then decline...

This Selected Issues paper examines the external imbalance situation in Turkey. Turkey’s current account deficit is expected to remain elevated at about 5.5 to 6 percent of GDP through 2019. Reducing the deficit to a more sustainable level about 2.5 to 3 percent of GDP should be a key...

The Article IV Consultation discusses the IMF Executive Board’s assessment of economic developments and policies in Switzerland. With the exchange rate floor in place for more than one year, the Swiss economy has been relatively stable. Although overall export growth is weak, the external...

This staff report on Iraq’s 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights economic policies and development. Risks to the macroeconomic outlook remain high. The risks can translate into lower oil revenues, deterioration in the fiscal position, pressures to use Central Bank of Iraq reserves for...

Staff Discussion Notes showcase the latest policy-related analysis and research being developed by individual IMF staff and are published to elicit comment and to further debate. These papers are generally brief and written in nontechnical language, and so are aimed at a broad audience...

This paper surveys the foreign exchange markets, money and secondary government security markets, and stock exchanges in 107 smaller economy countries. The underdevelopment of these markets impedes risk transfer, monetary policy, corporate financing, and the capacity to absorb capital inflows....