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...

This selected issues paper on Sudan was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with the member country. It is based on the information available at the time it was completed on September 7, 2012. The views expressed...

This statistical appendix for the Federated States of Micronesia was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with wages. Consumer price index, Pohnpei consumer index, Chuuk consumer index, Kosrae consumer index, and...

This Selected Issues Paper focuses on economic condition, energy subsidies, and oil prices in Jordan. Energy price subsidies pose a serious fiscal risk in the present context of increasing and volatile international prices. The macroeconomic situation in Jordan is closely tied to that of other...

This Selected Issues paper discusses the need to meet Algeria’s fiscal challenges. Although Algeria enjoys substantial fiscal savings, fiscal policy is currently on an unsustainable path. Under current projections, Algeria will deplete its financial savings in the long term, leaving...

The Macedonian labor market exhibits a high unemployment rate, yet does not demonstrate obvious and large enough constraints on the demand or supply side. Considerable achievements can be made by maintaining macroeconomic stability, attracting FDI, and closing the educational gaps. The second...

This Selected Issues paper discusses the policy response by a sample of central banks to the ongoing oil and food price shocks in South Africa, drawing some lessons, which can help put in context developments in the country. The paper discusses first- and second-round effects of “supply...

This 2012 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic growth in Luxembourg slowed in 2011 amid the euro area sovereign debt crisis. Reflecting sluggish external demand, economic activity is expected to further weaken, with growth projected to decline to ½ percent in 2012. Executive...

This paper presents a Joint Staff Advisory Note on Kenya’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. Kenya is implementing the three-tiered East Africa Community (EAC) common external tariff and needs to develop a trade strategy, in agreement with other EAC members, that further lowers trade...