Concerns were raised beginning in the 1980s about the possible detrimental effects of high positive real interest rates under financial liberalization. Using a sample of 28 countries that underwent financial liberalization since the 1970s, the paper examines the evidence about the emergence of...

Sponsored by the IMF's Statistics Department and edited by Vicente Galbis, this volume contributes to the international discussion that resulted in the UN's ""A System of National Accounts, 1993."" Experts from the IMF, UN, OECD, EC, and statistical institutions examine issues pertaining to...

This paper provides a review of the literature on both analytical issues and country experiences on the sequencing of financial sector reforms. It discusses the choice between big-bang and gradual reforms, the relationship of financial sector reforms to other economic reforms, the internal...

This paper reviews experience with currency convertibility on both the current and capital accounts, with particular attention to the Fund’s concepts and policy implications. After discussing the basic concepts of convertibility, the paper reviews the experience with convertibility in three...

This paper examines financial sector reforms in eight developing countries--Argentina, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda--and derives general lessons from their experience. The paper reviews the initial situation of these countries; describes the financial sector (and...

This paper reviews the experience with floating interbank exchange rate systems in five developing countries--The Gambia, Guyana, Jamaica, Nigeria and Sri Lanka--and draws some conclusions about the stability and efficiency of these systems. The experience of these countries illustrates both the...