Azerbaijan faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. The combined COVID-19 and oil price shocks pushed the economy into recession. A sizeable relief package helped cushion the economic impact from this shock, and the economy has started to recover. Yet the medium-term outlook remains subdued. The...

Russia entered the crisis with low potential growth but strong macroeconomic policy frameworks and significant buffers. Policy space allowed the authorities to mount a sizeable public health and countercyclical response to the crisis, which has helped limit the economic downturn. Nevertheless,...

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...

A 9-month Staff Monitored Program (SMP) combined with a disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) of 50 percent of quota (about USD 174 million) was approved on March 30, 2021 to address BOP challenges and build a track record towards an upper credit tranche financial arrangement. This...