Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there has been increased public interest in informal funds transfer (IFT) systems. This paper examines the informal hawala system, an IFT system found predominantly in the Middle East and South Asia. The paper examines the historical and...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes France's fiscal stance using a structural stochastic model. The theoretical model features a forward-looking benevolent government that needs to decide the optimal fiscal stance given the level of public debt, the cyclical position of the economy, and...

This chapter reports on Coordinating Group on Exchange Rate Issues' (CGER) works and provides perspectives on alternative frameworks for assessing exchange rates and the rationale for CGER's general approach. The primary motivation for the work of the CGER is to identify cases where exchange...