This paper presents an overview of recent U.S. fiscal developments and discusses possible implications of the sharp turn around in the government’s fiscal position. Against this back ground, it also reviews key policy challenges that will need to be addressed to cope with the mounting...

Spain's economy has continued to grow strongly, reflecting its improved fundamentals. However, especially the young generation still faces daunting economic challenges. In the meantime, several downside risks are clouding the medium-term outlook. Externally, they comprise sudden changes in...

This Selected Issues paper on Spain focuses on differences in regional productivity. Recent studies of income convergence among Spanish regions suggest that the convergence has been slow since 1980 reflecting persistent regional disparities in total factor productivity. The empirical...

This 2016 Article IV Consultation highlights that Spain's economy has continued its recovery. Real GDP expanded by 3.2 percent in 2015 with the same growth rate expected for 2016, despite a prolonged period of domestic political uncertainty. Nearly 1.1 million jobs were created over the past two...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the drivers of firm productivity growth in Spain. Spain's weak productivity performance has been linked to the dominance of many low-productivity small firms and inefficient allocation of resources. The biggest gain can be expected from lowering regulatory...

This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights continued strong, balanced, and employment-intensive expansion of the Spanish economy during the first half of 2017; the recovery reached a significant milestone when real GDP surpassed its precrisis peak. The economy grew by 3.3 percent in 2016 and is...