Since the 1998 financial crisis the Russian economy has been growing rapidly, and seems set to go on doing so in the coming years, recording healthy balance of trade surpluses and surpluses on the public sector accounts. At the same time, under President Putin, market-type reforms have gained...

This paper makes some selective comparisons of the empirical evidence relating to financial discipline and soft budget constraints in the enterprise sector in China and the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (CEEFSU). The paper finds that: (1) in both...

This article presents a range of tools and indicators for analysing fiscal vulnerabilities and risks for advanced economies. The analysis covers key short-, medium- and long-term dimensions. Short-term pressures are captured by assessing (i) gross funding needs, (ii) market perceptions of...