This paper presents the Annual Progress Report (APR) 2004 on Senegal’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). The APR analyzes the 2004 macroeconomic framework for the purpose of comparing the forecasts under the various scenarios and the results obtained. Budgetary programming and...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic activity in Moldova benefited from a favorable external environment in 2003–04. GDP grew by 6.3 percent in 2003, advancing to 6.5 percent (year over year) in the first half of 2004. Large and rising workers’ remittances...

This paper reviews the Interim Staff Report Under Intensified Surveillance for Jamaica. The authorities have reaffirmed their objective of balancing the budget in FY 2005/06, while recognizing that this now poses a greater challenge. The IMF staff now estimates that measures in the range of...

The staff report for the 2005 Article IV Consultation on Portugal highlights economic developments and outlook. Private consumption has proven resilient, reflecting low interest rates and lengthening tenors on bank lending, while investment and export growth remained weak. Executive Directors...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic activity in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) has accelerated since mid-2003 owing to an acceleration of activity in the tourism and construction sectors. Inflation has been stable and monetary aggregates have been expanding...

This paper discusses a Request from Albania for a Three-Year Arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). This arrangement aims to prepare Albania for graduation from IMF-supported programs. If properly implemented, the policies it embodies will reduce vulnerabilities,...

Despite abundant natural resources and arable land, Guinea-Bissau is ranked at the lowest end of the UN human development index, mainly because of the civil war of 1998–99 and the ensuing prolonged political instability and serious governance deficiencies thereafter. Since mid-2004,...

The 2008 Article IV Consultation with Dominica discusses external competitiveness and key policy issues. The real effective exchange rate is broadly in line with macroeconomic fundamentals. Fiscal policy is appropriately focused on reducing high public debt. Plans for developing the tourist...

This note analyzes the medium- and long-term prospects of the hydrocarbon sector as a source of growth. Substantial hydrocarbon and financial reserves implies a sizable upward shift in the sustainable expenditure path. Rather than suggesting a specific fiscal rule, four simple alternatives are...

This paper examines the consideration of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe’s debt relief at the completion point under the enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Debt Relief under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. Lower-than-projected export...