This paper studies the implications of foreign currency deposits (FCDs) for international liquidity shortages in Pakistan. The analysis focuses on how the large volume of FCDs and the specific institutional characteristics of those deposits have made the Pakistan economy highly vulnerable to...

Do Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) suffer from a debt overhang? Is debt relief going to improve their growth rates? To answer these important questions, we look at how the debt-growth relationship varies with indebtedness levels and other country characteristics in a panel of developing...

This paper starts from a discussion of the economic case for moderated government intervention in debt restructuring in the nonfinancial corporate sector. It then draws on lessons from past crises to explain three broad approaches that have been applied to corporate debt restructurings in the...

This paper discusses Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Third Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Applicability of a Performance Criterion. Financial sector indicators through end-March 2013 suggest that the banking system remains profitable and adequately capitalized at...

This paper focuses on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Fourth Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Request for Modification and Waivers of Applicability of Performance Criteria. Despite a challenging environment, steady progress has been made in meeting program objectives. All end-June 2013...

The economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is strongly connected to Europe through trade and financial channels, continues to pay a high price for the tough conditions in the area. The paper discuss that, following low demand in its trading partners, exports slumped in 2012 by 7.5 percent,...

Labor markets in the Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) are characterized by some of the highest unemployment and low employment rates in Europe. We analyze the poor labor market outcomes in these countries by comparison with the...

This paper discusses Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Fifth Review Under the Stand-by Arrangement and Requests for Waivers of Applicability and Extension and Augmentation of the Arrangement. Policy implementation remains strong despite a challenging environment. All end-September 2013 performance...

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) challenge is to cope with the adverse economic environment and prepare the ground for achieving sustainable export-led economic growth, raising living standards, and making progress toward EU accession. In addition to fiscal consolidation, this will require...