Spain has experienced income convergence consistently in the past decade, despite gradual losses in competitiveness. The empirical evidence indicates that overall EU enlargement offers a range of opportunities for Spain, points to potential pressures in specific sectors, and offers challenges,...

This Selected Issues paper for the Netherlands highlights that Dutch cost competitiveness deteriorated significantly in the years prior to 2004. The relatively poor economic performance during the new millennium contributed to these concerns generally, as did restrained export performance more...

This Selected Issues paper examines three areas of key policy importance for Greece in the coming years. The paper documents the loss of international competitiveness in recent years, as well as the accompanying widening of the current account deficit. It analyzes fiscal consolidation episodes...

This paper discusses a request from Congo for the Rapid-Access Component of the Exogenous Shocks Facility. Performance on the 2008 staff-monitored program was mixed, complicated by the effects of the exogenous shock. Although weaknesses remain, the authorities strengthened public financial...

This Selected Issues paper presents background notes on El Salvador’s economic growth, national savings, and implications of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA). The paper describes possible factors behind sluggish growth in El Salvador in recent...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that the GDP growth in Japan slowed unexpectedly in the second quarter of 2004, after several quarters of above-trend growth. For the full year, GDP rose by 2.6 percent, well below expectations. A significant part of the shortfall reflected a shift to...

This paper examines the Philippines’s 2004 Article IV Consultation and Post-Program Monitoring Discussions. GDP growth has exceeded expectations, but unemployment remains high. With exports staging a recovery and consumption boosted by overseas remittances and the election, GDP grew by...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic growth in Morocco has been volatile and insufficient to significantly reduce poverty and unemployment. Growth averaged 3 percent over the last decade. It has been volatile because of the dependency of agriculture on rainfalls. In 2004,...

This Selected Issues paper examines the main factors explaining Ukraine’s growth performance so far, assesses whether the recent recovery is sustainable, and provides a quantitative analysis of long-term growth prospects. It finds that the recent recovery is not yet self-sustaining and...

This paper reviews economic developments in Lithuania during 1993–96. Economic growth resumed in 1994 and gained further momentum in 1995; real GDP increased by an estimated 3 percent in 1995. Growth in 1995 was driven by the industrial sector, while agriculture performed poorly. The...