Countries vary widely with respect to the share of government spending on health, a metric that can serve as a proxy for the extent to which health is prioritized by governments. World Health Organization (WHO) data estimate that, in 2011, health's share of aggregate government expenditure in...

The purpose of the study is to examine Peru’s effective interest spread through accounting decompositions, financial ratio analysis, and spread regressions. The government’s financial restructuring programs accelerated the banking sector consolidation process. Robustness of...

Sovereign risk premia in several euro area countries have risen markedly since 2008, driving up credit spreads in the private sector as well. We propose a New Keynesian model of a two-region monetary union that accounts for this “sovereign risk channel.” The model is calibrated to the euro...

The key policy challenge for Turkey in the years ahead will be to enhance and consolidate the advances made since the nation’s 2000-01 economic crisis. Higher growth could reduce unemployment and raise living standards toward European Union levels. This paper reviews Turkey’s...

How to entrench hard-won gains, increase resilience to shocks, and improve growth performance to reduce poverty? As Central America moves forward in regaining macroeconomic stability, these are the challenges. This study analyzes Central America’s real, fiscal, monetary, and financial...

The Gambian economy performed well in the face of external shocks under the Extended Credit Facility. Executive Directors welcomed the 2011 budget, which focuses mainly on revenue enhancement, limiting government’s domestic borrowing, and reduction of poverty. They agreed that IMF...

This 2002 Article IV Consultation highlights that since mid-2001, a combination of budget restraint, ambitious energy price adjustments, and prudent monetary policy moderated domestic demand and reduced the current account deficit in Romania. At the same time, export and GDP growth were among...

In 2005, the German government announced a far-reaching fiscal adjustment program. This paper uses the IMF’s Global Fiscal Model to study its impact and explores options for addressing long-term pressures from population aging. The growth effects of the planned VAT increase are likely modest,...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that recent accession to the European Union and gains in growth performance reinforced the Czech Republic’s position as one of the most open and developed economies among the new member states. Thanks to substantial foreign direct investment,...