The government of the Kyrgyz Republic is determined to consolidate its finances over the coming years. This note describes the main elements of the tax regime in the Kyrgyz Republic, looks into tax incentives, and provides some reform options to raise revenues. The second note is on monetary...

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 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 2003 Article IV Consultation highlights that after a prolonged recession through the second half of the 1990s, the Netherlands Antilles economy has recently shown some important resilience. With the exchange rate pegged to the U.S. dollar, the Netherlands Antilles has enjoyed low inflation....

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 2002 Article IV Consultation on Portugal highlights that after an extended strong economic expansion, the GDP growth stalled in 2002 and, at 0.5 percent, fell below the euro area average for the first time in almost a decade. The growth slowdown reflected a broad-based decline in domestic...

This paper focuses on Pakistan’s 2004 Article IV Consultation, Ninth Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), and Request for Waiver of Performance Criteria (PCs). Implementation of the PRGF program in Pakistan remains broadly on...

This paper examines Armenia’s 2004 Article IV Consultation, Sixth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility, and Request for Waiver of Performance Criteria. Armenia’s strong economic performance has been continuing in 2004. In January–September, the...