This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that Brazil’s economy is recovering gradually from the slowdown that began in mid-2011. Consumption remained resilient last year underpinned by low unemployment and broad gains in real wages, although it has slowed somewhat more recently. After...

Samoa was hit hard by a strong tropical cyclone, and the authorities are to be commended for their swift response to the resulting disaster. Economic growth this fiscal year is expected to be significantly lower than projected prior to the cyclone, but there are encouraging signs of early...

Portugal's program implementation is on track despite difficult economic conditions and significant legal challenges. The markedly weaker economic outlook provides a strong case for recalibrating the program’s fiscal targets. This strong adjustment effort needs to be consolidated by...

Economic outcomes in Jamaica have fallen short of the authorities’ objectives in recent years. As the government looks to reinvigorate its growth and debt reduction strategy, it is instructive to examine how exogenous shocks and other unanticipated developments can affect economic...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the underlying sources of growth in Uganda, suggesting that the contribution to growth from total factor productivity has been minor, while the high population growth poses a significant challenge to sustain a rapid improvement in living standards. The paper...

This Selected Issues paper examines the sources of real growth in Guinea. It identifies and quantifies the impact on real GDP growth of both the exogenous shocks and the policy changes that have occurred since 2000. The paper offers, first, some empirical evidence on real GDP growth in Guinea...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.