Explanations of the large current account deficits for the euro area periphery and the Baltics in the run up to the crisis revolve around two main factors: deteriorating export performance or demand driven booms. We add that there were important movements in transfers and net income balances....

Financial sector reform in the Baltic countries is reviewed in light of the banking crises that emerged during the reform period. It is argued that the crises had their roots in the structural deficiencies specific to planned economies and the financial environment that developed before and...

This paper examines the indirect role the IMF plays in combating corruption in the Baltic and CIS countries by promoting structural reforms that help improve economic governance and thus reduce opportunities for rent-seeking behavior. The analysis draws on examples of actual experience with...

This paper examines the level and structure of fiscal revenues from the Baltics, Russia, and other former Soviet Union countries’ (BRO) energy sector and suggests reforms in energy tax policy. Revenues from the oil and gas sectors are about half the level that might be expected from...

The paper identifies a number of stylized facts on the behavior of key macroeconomic variables during high inflation and stabilization in countries in transition. To examine the extent to which these stylized facts conform to the predictions of standard open economy monetary theory, the paper...

Many countries among the Baltics, Russia and other CIS states are increasingly borrowing on international capital markets, a development that generally reflects their success in achieving financial stabilization. In view of the low level of domestic saving and large capital requirements,...

This paper investigates the effects of macroeconomic and structural variables on financial intermediation. To this end, it presents a theoretical foundation for two new measures of intermediation, the money multiplier and the ratio of private sector credit to monetary base. Results from panel...