This 2009 Article IV Consultation focuses on euro area policies. The euro area remains in recession, with signs of improvement yet to evolve into a recovery. The large drop in financial wealth, an associated increase in private savings, tight financing conditions, and the adjustment of global...

This report includes five background studies with emphasis on vulnerabilities and growth, the focus of the 2006 Article IV Consultation with Uruguay. Stocks of key financial balance sheet vulnerabilities are also discussed. With the appreciation of the peso since early 2004, the discussion on...

This Selected Issues paper for Thailand highlights the effect of higher global interest rates on Thailand and the relationship between financial crises and long-term potential growth. Since the Asian crisis, Thailand has adopted an inflation targeting regime, and has intervened in the foreign...

Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s growth is expected to moderate but remain fairly robust, supported by large projects in train, strong mineral exports, and expansionary policies. The staff report for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s 2009 Article IV...

This Selected Issues paper for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is examined. Real GDP growth accelerated to 5 percent in 2007 and 6 percent in the first half of 2008, from its historical average of about 3 percent. Increased investment, partly financed by FDI, is the main driver...

This Selected Issues Paper presents an analysis of Belarus-specific conditions and cross-country research, and proposes a roadmap for real-sector reforms. It highlights distortions resulting from the government’s interference in the economy, and presents an overview of economic benefits...

This Selected Issues paper investigates the economic importance of institutions in Ukraine, and attempts to quantify the potential benefits of market-friendly structural reforms. The paper reviews some of the key findings of the development-accounting literature, which has tried to explain the...

This Selected Issues paper for Cambodia explores the implications for long-term sustainable growth from cross-country analysis of the sources of growth. Cambodia’s low labor productivity, inadequate and expensive infrastructure, and a cumbersome regulatory environment do not bode well for...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that Russia is in its seventh year of robust economic growth. This strong performance was ignited by the sharp depreciation in the wake of the 1998 crisis, and subsequently sustained by large terms-of-trade gains, in combination with increased...

The 2006 Article IV Consultation on the Republic of Tajikistan explains political and economic developments. Although Tajikistan’s external debt profile has improved significantly, total public and publicly guaranteed debt is projected to increase significantly, mainly because of large...