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...

The three-point VAT increase is part of a package in which unemployment payroll taxes will be reduced. Risks to the recovery are balanced but the range of forecasts for 2007 is unusually wide. The priority for Germany is to transmit its external strength to the domestic economy, thus further...

The Growth and Social Protection Strategy (GSPS) attaches great importance to the promotion of economic growth and job creation, given the nature of poverty in Dominica. The GSPS also stresses that existing health and education programs are essential to foster growth in the medium and long...

This Selected Issues paper reviews recent developments in growth and employment in Bulgaria and highlights key constraints to growth suggested by cross-country competitiveness studies. Bulgaria’s GDP has grown substantially since economic and financial stabilization in 1997. The global...

This Joint Staff Advisory Note focuses on Republic Of Moldova’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and National Development Strategy (NDS). The NDS unifies in one document the government’s poverty reduction strategy and development vision. The NDS argues that Moldova needs to add...

This Joint Staff Advisory Note (JSAN) reviews the second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (known as the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Framework, GPRSF) for the period 2007–2011 prepared by the government of Mali. To attain its twin objectives of rapid private sector-led growth and...

This Joint Staff Advisory Note reviews Senegal’s Second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP–II), and provides advice on key priorities for strengthening the updated strategy and promoting its effective implementation. The PRSP–II, covering 2006–10, builds on...

This staff report on Saudi Arabia’s 2013 Article IV Consultation discusses economic policies and development. As the largest crude oil exporter, and the only producer with significant spare capacity, Saudi Arabia plays a systemic and stabilizing role in the global oil market. In 2011,...

This staff report on the Republic of Serbia’s Article IV Consultation highlights economic background and policies. The global financial crisis exposed Serbia’s unsustainable growth model and its key vulnerabilities. Robust growth has not taken off, and economic activity is below...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that in a context of weakening economic conditions in Europe and sizeable fiscal consolidation and domestic policy uncertainty, the French economy flat lined in 2012. However, recent improvements in economic indicators support the expectation of a...