Israel was mildly affected by the global recession: following a slowdown in 2009, output is projected to grow by some 4 percent in 2010, led by consumption and exports. Robust fundamentals—including sustained pre-crisis fiscal consolidation—and a swift monetary and fiscal policy response to...

The study shows that the Israeli economy has emerged unscathed from the global financial crisis. The first part of the study outlines the relationship between risk and Israel’s macroeconomic performance, estimated through a regression analysis. The second part of the study focuses on...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that strong macroeconomic conditions and sound domestic policies have significantly improved Israel’s growth performance and prospects, notwithstanding political uncertainties and the hostilities in the north during the summer of 2006. Inflation...

This Selected Issues paper on Israel focuses on the fiscal institutions and the political economy in Israel. The paper addresses two questions. First, is there evidence for political-economy distortions to Israel’s fiscal policy? Second, what institutional changes could help in limiting these...

This Selected Issues paper examines Israel’s monetary policy regime with an eye toward developing some understanding of why breaches have been occurring and how to address them. The paper provides a brief history of Israel’s experience with inflation and inflation targeting. It examines...

This Selected Issues Paper states that Israel’s growth performance is impressive, with real GDP growing at a faster pace than many other OECD countries. The secular Jewish population enjoys a high level of living standards, whereas most Arab and Haredi people are poor, with poverty incidence...

This 2012 Article IV Consultation reports that Israel has emerged from the 2008–09 global crisis with strong economic growth, a resilient banking system, and unemployment at historic lows. Exports, at 40 percent of GDP, depend on global demand for high-technology products, such as electronics...

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 Selected Issues paper analyzes the empirical relationship between corporate leverage—and other indicators of financial health—and investment in Israel, using dynamic panel data techniques. The results suggest that weak balance sheets may well have contributed to the investment decline...

The methodologies used in this paper suggest that Israel’s real exchange rate is moderately undervalued, while gains in external competitiveness appear to have been eroded in recent years. Market-based indicators provide a useful additional dimension to the analysis of financial stability in...