This paper aims to assess the economic impact of the IMF’s support through its facilities for low-income countries. It relies on two complementary econometric analyses: the first investigates the longer-term impact of IMF engagement—primarily through successive medium-term programs under the...

This paper explores thelinks between economic growth and human development, identifying two chains, one from economic growth to human development, the other, from human development to economic growth. The importance of various links in each chain are explored empirically with the help of...

Several recent papers on the political economy of growth have argued that increased skewness in the distribution of wealth/income induces slower growth. In the present model, investment, viewed as education, comes from two sources : a public component, financed by taxes and equally distributed...

The Article IV Consultation with the Kingdom of Swaziland discusses efforts to broaden the tax base and improve tax administration, in particular through the introduction of a value-added tax and the establishment of a Revenue Authority. The depreciation of the nominal exchange rate along with...

The authorities’ response to policy recommendations in the 2005 Article IV Consultation has been generally positive, and authorities successfully completed an SMP. The appreciation reflects the tightening of monetary policy and increased inflows of remittances, transfers, and FDI. The...