This paper on Romania 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 13, 2012. The views expressed in this...

Iceland’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that new projects have rekindled rapid growth and the economy is exhibiting signs of overheating, with imbalances evident in inflation, the current account, and external debt. GDP grew at an average rate of 3.8 percent between 1995 and 2004,...

This Selected Issues paper for Iceland reports that it faces a considerably less favorable inflation-output variability trade-off than do Canada or the United States. A number of measures should be considered that could help minimize the cost of inflation breaching the tolerance band and help to...

This paper examines the Republic of Moldova’s Fourth Review under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility and request for Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criterion. Investors have been attracted by Moldova’s low costs, and export prospects have improved with the resumption...

This Selected Issues paper on the Russian Federation underlies inflation persistence and evolution in response to structural shocks. Inflation in Russia has been characterized by a considerable degree of persistence. An explicit inflation-targeting framework may help reduce firms’...

The Paraguayan economy suffered setbacks throughout 2011–12 owing to drought, export ban, and inflation. Recovery measures have been under way with active government intervention in the implementation of a new budget, tax reforms, and new monetary and fiscal policies. The central bank has...

This selected issues paper on Indonesia 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 August 21, 2012. The views expressed...

This technical paper focuses on the challenges faced by Paraguay’s budget resources. Paraguay’s government should adopt a forward-looking fiscal strategy. The strategy’s main goals should be to contain budget dependence on Itaipu revenues, preserve fiscal discipline, and...

This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that the transitional government that took over in Haiti following President Aristide’s departure in February 2004 implemented prudent fiscal and monetary policies, and significantly improved governance and transparency in public sector...

This Selected Issues paper describes the monetary transmission mechanism in Sierra Leone. The paper uses a vector autoregression model to explore the links between policy changes by The Bank of Sierra Leone and real variables, such as output and prices. The paper describes Sierra Leone’s...