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 paper decomposes the sources of the peace dividend into global, regional, and country-specific factors, and analyzes their relative importance. It finds that the easing of international and regional tensions and the existence of IMF-supported adjustment programs are systematically related...

This paper decomposes the sources of the peace dividend into global, regional, and country-specific factors, and analyzes their relative importance. It finds that the easing of international and regional tensions and the existence of IMF-supported adjustment programs are systematically related...

The decline in military spending that began in the mid-1980s continued through 1995, and this decline was widespread both geographically and by level of development. Cuts in military spending appear to have potentially important implications for non-military spending and fiscal adjustment. In...

More than a decade after the start of the transition process, unemployment rates remain in the double digits in a number of Central and Eastern European countries. That unemployment rates have failed to decline, even in countries experiencing good growth, is puzzling. In this paper the authors...

The decline in military spending that began in the mid-1980s continued through 1995, and this decline was widespread both geographically and by level of development. Cuts in military spending appear to have potentially important implications for nonmilitary spending and fiscal adjustment. In...

The IMF MULTIMOD model is used to trace the economic impact of a 20 percent reduction in world military expenditures. GDP falls in the short run, however private consumption and investment rise, leading to an increase in GDP in the medium and long run. The estimated gains to economic welfare are...