The staff report for the 2003 Article IV Consultation on Kuwait highlights the economic developments and policies. The macroeconomic position over the medium term under current oil price expectations and the maintenance of a cautious policy stance is projected to weaken, but is not expected to...

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic activity has been gathering speed in Estonia. Year-over-year growth accelerated to 6.8 percent in 2004 Q1 from 5.8 percent in 2003 Q1, driven by domestic demand and supported by technology sector exports. Inflation accelerated in the...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.

This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that Israel’s economic recovery is under way after a prolonged recession. Growth is being supported by more favorable global economic conditions, an improvement in the security situation, and appropriate policies, which have included tightening...

This 2002 Article IV Consultation highlights that in 2001, overall real growth for Kuwait fell slightly as oil output dropped following OPEC-mandated production cuts. The real non-oil GDP growth decelerated to 0.5 percent from 1 percent in 2000 as the private sector investment remained broadly...

The Korean economy is slowing in the face of strong global headwinds. It is projected to bottom out during the course of 2012, regaining momentum towards the end of the year, in line with the global recovery. The main short-term risk to the outlook is a further intensification of the euro area...

This report summarizes the findings of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) Update for Spain. Although there is a core of strong banks that are well managed and appear resilient to further shocks, vulnerabilities remain. Substantial progress has been made in reforming the former...

The Mongolian financial system is dominated by commercial banks. The nonbank financial sector, including insurance and the stock market, is small. The current level of dollarization exposes Mongolia’s financial system to risk. The authorities are in the process of establishing the...

This Selected Issues paper on Mexico presents econometric investigation of the cyclical determinants of remittances to Mexico. The aggregate U.S. business cycle is not necessarily relevant for remittances. Remittances to Mexico do show a significant relationship with employment conditions in...

The Republic of Estonia’s 2007 Article IV Consultation reports that surging domestic demand has widened the external current account deficit and pushed the economy against capacity constraints. Wage increases have begun to erode competitiveness and kept inflation above the Maastricht...