Fiscal deficits and the public debt has grown throughout much of the postwar period in most industrialized countries under the pressure of rising public expenditure, a trend that has begun to reverse after 1992. A number of studies argue that fiscal consolidation in association with expenditure...

The Bank of Canada (BOC) sets a high benchmark for transparency, which is recognized by its stakeholders, thus maintaining a high level of trust and accountability. The BOC's transparency practices are broadly aligned with expanded and comprehensive practices as defined by the IMF Central Bank...

KEY ISSUES Context: The current account is worsening, coinciding with peak debt service, limited market access, and low reserves. Although the authorities have taken ad hoc measures to curb acute exchange rate pressures during the summer, a stronger policy response is urgently needed to reduce...

After recovering rapidly from the Great Recession, the Canadian economy has slowed down in 2012. Growth weakened in the first three quarters of 2012, and recent indicators have suggested that the pace of economic expansion remained subpar in the fourth quarter. The fiscal policy has continued to...

This paper discusses key findings of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) covering the transparency of monetary policy in the Republic of Indonesia. There is a reasonably high degree of transparency in Indonesia’s monetary policy, with much progress having been made over the last...

The report throws light on the process of recovery from the global financial crisis in Iceland. The strong growth performance witnessed in 2011 seems to continue in 2012. The closing output gap and the decline in unemployment have been marked as positive changes. The major external and internal...

This selected issues paper on Iceland reports that since mid-2009, Iceland has undergone a heavily frontloaded fiscal consolidation program to bring government finances to a sustainable level. To maintain the adjustment gains achieved during the last 21⁄2 years, the authorities have started...

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

The labor market remains weak, disinflation has slowed, but falling wages are improving competitiveness. The weak economic environment is putting pressure on the banking sector. Financial conditions have deteriorated recently because of international financial market tensions. The Bank of Latvia...

An evaluation of observance of good transparency practices relating to banking supervisory and regulatory policy was carried out as part of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) against the IMF Code of Good Practices on Transparency in Monetary and Financial Policies. It also provides...