This paper discusses key findings of the Sixth Review for Uganda Under the Policy Support Instrument. Structural rigidities continue to pose challenges to macroeconomic management in Uganda. Persistent weaknesses in project implementation coupled with rigidities in domestic financial markets...

In 2010, average inflation has remained low in all West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries, but has edged up in the second half of the year. After a moderate fiscal easing by about 1½ percentage points of GDP in 2009, mostly the result of higher capital spending, the...

The strong economic and financial position of Kuwait has improved further, but inflation has risen. The nation has made significant progress on the issues raised in the 2007 consultation. Kuwait’s integration into the global economy has been increasing in recent years. Global integration...

Qatar’s macroeconomic performance was strong in 2008, notwithstanding the global financial crisis. This 2008 Article IV Consultation discusses that overall real GDP growth is estimated at 16 percent in 2008, driven by expansions in the production of oil, liquefied natural gas, and...

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....

This paper explores the role of exchange rates in emerging economies with inflation-targeting regimes, an issue that has become especially germane during the current episode of financial turmoil and volatile capital flows. Under inflation targeting, the interest rate is the main monetary policy...

This paper proposes a new taxonomy of monetary regimes defined by the choice and clarity of the nominal anchor. The regimes are as follows: (i) monetary nonautonomy, (ii) weak anchor, (iii) money anchor, (iv) exchange rate peg, (v) full-fledged inflation targeting, (vi) implicit price stability...

The most salient trend in monetary policy over the past two decades has been increasing reliance on money market operations, which reflects the belief that allowing market forces to allocate financial resources brings about increased economic efficiency and growth. However, small economies and...

In 2003, Guinea's macroeconomic management deteriorated significantly, and the prospects for 2003 are uncertain at best. Performance under the 2002–03 poverty reduction and growth facility (PRGF)-supported program is weak. The main challenge is to promote and sustain the strong private...