Showing 1 - 10 of 118
The oil price decline creates an opportunity to dismantle energy subsidies, which escalated with high oil prices. This paper assesses energy subsidies in Latin America and the Caribbean—about 1.8 percent of GDP in 2011–13 (approximately evenly split between fuel and electricity),...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011242202
This Selected Issues paper reviews the extent to which growth in Ethiopia has translated into higher living standards. A key feature of the economic strategy has been an explicit commitment to poverty reduction and structural transformation. This is underpinned by the vision of a...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011244172
This study estimates the size of the informal economy, and the relative contribution of each underlying factor, for the Caucasus and Central Asia countries in 2008. Using a Multiple Indicator-Multiple Cause model, we find that a burdensome tax system, rigid labor market, low institutional...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010790402
This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that high oil prices and increased production have enabled the government in Kuwait to continue to record high fiscal and external surpluses and build strong buffers. Overall real non-oil GDP growth is projected to increase modestly to 3 percent in...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011244802
This paper presents key discussions of Cameroon’s 2013 Article IV Consultation. Economic activity in Cameroon has continued to recover gradually from the global financial crisis in 2008–2009, and inflation has remained subdued. In light of growing vulnerabilities, the report...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011245394
We develop a micro-founded general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents to identify pertinent constraints to financial inclusion. We evaluate quantitatively the policy impacts of relaxing each of these constraints separately, and in combination, on GDP and inequality. We focus on three...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011163128
The paper analyses existing country-level information on the relationship between the development of Islamic banking and financial inclusion. In Muslim countries—members of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC)—various indicators of financial inclusion tend to be lower,...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011242266
This paper discusses the findings of the assessments on Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision in India. The Reserve Bank of India is to be commended for its tightly controlled regulatory and supervisory regime, consisting of higher than minimum capital requirements; frequent,...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011242502
Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. In the context of the 2012 Article IV consultation with Zimbabwe, the following documents have been released and are included in this package
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011243459
This paper leverages the IMF’s Financial Access Survey (FAS) database to construct a new composite index of financial inclusion. The topic of financial inclusion has gathered significant attention in recent years. Various initiatives have been undertaken by central banks both in advanced...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011142035