This Selected Issues paper on Canada examines economic development and policies. Capital ratios before the crisis have been a key determinant of bank performance during the turmoil; and Canadian banks had ample capital. Specifically, most banks with critically low capital at end-2006 later...

Non-performing loans (NPLs) were found to respond to macroeconomic conditions, such as GDP growth, unemployment, and inflation; there are also strong feedback effects from the banking system to the real economy. This suggests that the high NPLs that many CESEE countries currently face adversely...

This note estimates potential output for France during 1980–2010, using three distinct approaches, and discusses long-term growth prospects. The focus on capital taxation highlights the need for a broader reform of the French tax system to address the features that hamper job growth,...

Despite a relatively high GDP growth rate over the past decade (2000–10), economic growth in Mauritania has not been able to make a significant dent in poverty. Rapid and sustained poverty reduction requires inclusive growth that allows people to contribute to and benefit from expanding...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that following a sharp downturn in 2009 in the context of the global economic and financial crisis, Slovakia emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the European Union, supported in particular by substantial foreign investment in the auto...

Estonia has succeeded in reducing its macroeconomic imbalances and vulnerabilities, but faces the challenge of preserving its hard-earned fiscal and financial stability and enhancing long-term growth prospects. In this regard, adopting a fully fledged medium-term fiscal framework can help assess...

This article is a synopsis on Costa Rica’s international spillovers, potential estimates, fiscal challenges, and banking systems. Spillovers are originated by cross-country trade and financial linkages, and also by the impact of global fiscal consolidation. The banking sector has about...

After five years of Paraguay’s high growth led, in part by agro-exporting sectors, the external environment has turned less favorable, with a sharp decline of export prices and a curtailment of external credit lines. The Selected Issues paper for Paraguay discusses economic development...