This paper examines the problems in establishing currency convertibility- and the optimal timing- in formerly planned economies making the transition to market-oriented systems.

The Selected Issues paper provides an overview of trends, performance export growth, value added, and employment, account of the structure and evolution of Lesotho's textiles during the decade through 2002, and discusses future prospects and key issues. It analyzes the implications of the...

This paper focuses on the Fourth Review Under the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for Afghanistan. Under the SMP, Afghanistan continued to make progress in improving macroeconomic management, strengthening its capacity to formulate policy, and creating conditions for sustainable economic growth....

This Selected Issues paper on Morocco analyzes Morocco’s growth performance over the past thirty-five years with a special focus on the more recent past. The paper presents stylized trends in growth; it first puts the overall growth performance of Morocco in an international perspective,...

The paper investigates whether the market size of a regional trade agreement (RTA) is a determinant of foreign direct investment (FDI) received by countries participating in the RTA. This hypothesis is tested on a sample of 71 developing countries during the period 1980-99. Evidence is found...

The paper combines various methodologies to assessing the level of the exchange rate in Botswana, explicitly taking into account the implications of its dependency on diamond exports. Real exchange rate estimation indicates that, after a period of overvaluation, Botswana's real effective...

This Selected Issues paper assesses the external competitiveness of Mauritius over the period 1980–2007, with particular attention to the most recent years. The paper estimates the equilibrium real exchange rate using the macroeconomic balance approach, the single-equation equilibrium...

This paper discusses Armenia’s request for a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with exceptional access of 400 percent of quota. Given the urgency of the situation, the request is being considered under the Emergency Financing Mechanism. The new program aims to achieve the necessary external...

Facing declining reserves and high inflation, Ethiopian authorities have implemented an effective macroeconomic adjustment package supported by the IMF under the rapid-access component of the Exogenous Shocks Facility. The global recession is putting renewed pressure on the external position,...