In this paper, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have drawn together available research findings on the benefits of trade liberalization as well as on the obstacles to trade-oriented development

This paper investigates how developments during and after the 2008-09 crisis have changed economists' and policymakers' views on: (i) fiscal risks and fiscal sustainability; (ii) the effectiveness of fiscal policy as a countercyclical tool; (iii) the appropriate design of fiscal adjustment...

This paper provides an analysis of the developments in public health spending over the past 40 years, as well as projections of public health spending for 50 advanced and emerging countries over 2011-50. The paper also quantifies the effects of specific health reforms on the growth of public...

This supplement provides country case studies on public health care expenditures and reform experiences in eight advanced and six emerging market economies. The case studies for the advanced economies seek to highlight specific episodes of success in containing public health spending during the...

This paper reviews past trends in public pension spending and provides projections for 27 advanced and 25 emerging economies over 2011-2050. In constructing these projections, the paper incorporates the impact of recent pension reforms and highlights the key assumptions underlying these...

The most recent decade has seen a growing presence of banks headquartered in advanced economies (AEs) expanding into emerging markets (EMs). These expansions have brought some benefits to both home and host countries, but the global financial crisis has also unmasked significant vulnerabilities...

This paper discusses tax and expenditure policy reforms to raise employment. Using data for 58 advanced and emerging economies, the paper provides a unified assessment of tax and expenditure measures that have usually been addressed separately. The focus is on incentives to increase labor demand...

This report reviews developments in the implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). It also provides updates on debt service and poverty-reducing expenditure by beneficiary countries, as well as on the cost of debt...

This statement summarizes the IMF's policies and practices with regard to the delivery of capacity development (CD) activities. It updates the 2014 Statement on IMF Policies and Practices on Capacity Development and reflects the conclusions of the 2018 Review of the Fund's Capacity Development...

This paper is the fifth in a series that examines macroeconomic developments and prospects in low-income developing countries (LIDCs). LIDCs are a group of 59 IMF member countries primarily defined by income per capita below a threshold level. LIDCs contain one fifth of the world's...