This second edition of the twice-yearly Gulf Economic Monitor describes recent economic developments, near-term prospects, and broader reform priorities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (The Pulse of the Region). Regional aggregate GDP growth in 2017 weakened to just 0.5 percent,...

The new government is taking office at the time when Mongolia and the world is faced with an unprecedented public health and economic crisis. The government is confronted with the difficult task of stabilizing the economy while laying the foundation for a sustainable recovery. In the short run,...

Thirty years of economic renovation reforms have catapulted Vietnam from the ranks of the world's poorest countries to one of its great development success stories. Critical ingredients have been visionary leaders, a sense of shared societal purpose, and a focus on the future. Starting in the...

This paper reviews the literature relevant to understanding political constraints to economic reforms. Reform refers to changes in government policies or institutional rules because status quo policies and institutions are not working well to achieve the goals of economic well-being and...

This economic report records the economic activities of Armenia for the year 2013. A steep decline in construction caused economic growth to weaken to 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2013 (year-on-year) from 7.5 percent in the first quarter and 7.2 percent in 2012 as a whole. Developments...

This regular economic report records the economic activities of Uzbekistan for the year 2013-2014. Uzbekistan's outlook remains largely dependent on commodity prices. The chief external factors affecting economic performance of Uzbekistan are favorable global commodity price trends for gold,...

The Myanmar Economic Monitor (MEM) aims to periodically take stock of economic development and highlight economic prospects and policy priorities in Myanmar. Myanmar grew at an estimated 8.5 percent in real terms in 2014/15. The MEM touches on continued recovery in growth, public consumption,...

The effect of structural reforms on growth in Europe and Central Asia is assessed by looking separately at each supply-side channel: capital, labor, and productivity, with the last estimated using the stochastic frontier approach. By controlling for the interaction with the economic cycle, the...