This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix surveys the main reasons for Papua New Guinea’s disappointing economic performance, highlighting the key impediments to growth in each of the main sectors of the economy. The paper outlines the structural reforms that could help reduce...

The public sector in Peru is clearly distinguished from the rest of the economy, but the existence of various legal and statistical definitions of the government makes it difficult to demarcate it clearly from the rest of the public sector. The recent constitutional reform has strengthened the...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that recent accession to the European Union and gains in growth performance reinforced the Czech Republic’s position as one of the most open and developed economies among the new member states. Thanks to substantial foreign direct investment,...

This 2002 Article IV Consultation highlights that after growing by an average 3 percent a year in 1998–99, output for St. Lucia stagnated in 2000, and fell by an estimated 5¼ percent in 2001. This reflected a severe drought in 2001, as well as lower tourism activity owing to the global...

This report on the Russian Federation’s Observance of Standards and Codes reports on the fiscal transparency module. Russia has achieved considerable progress in fiscal transparency and financial management since 1999, although a number of important reforms remain to be undertaken. The...

This paper examines Paraguay’s 2004 Article IV Consultation and Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Requests for Waiver and Modifications of Performance Criteria. Paraguay’s economy has stabilized in 2004, but growth remains modest. A late season drought depressed output of soy,...

This paper assesses Papua New Guinea’s 2003 Article IV Consultation and a Request for an Extension of Repurchase Expectations. Since the mid-1990s, Papua New Guinea’s growth performance has been weak and poverty has increased owing to an unfavorable external environment, loose...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix for the Kingdom of the Netherlands—Aruba underlies long-term growth and fiscal sustainability. Aruba’s fiscal position has been deteriorating since the turn of the century, and the medium-term fiscal sustainability analysis shows...

This paper discusses key findings of the Second Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) for Georgia. All quantitative performance criteria (PCs) for end-December 2004 were met, but the indicative target on reserve money growth was exceeded, mainly because of large...

This 2003 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economic expansion that began in Greece in the mid-1990s has continued unabated, with some employment gains in 2002 for the first time in four years. GDP increased by 4 percent in 2002, well above the European Union (EU) average, but external...