Iceland has made considerable progress under an economic program supported by the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Successful implementation of fiscal adjustment, effective use of capital controls, and financial sector restructuring have underpinned the recovery. Executive Directors emphasized that...

This paper discusses key findings of the First Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement for Iceland. Post-crisis dynamics has followed the expected pattern: a sharp drop in GDP, rapid decline in inflation, shift of the current account to balance, and gradual stabilization of currency and financial...

This paper discusses key findings of the Third Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement for Pakistan. Program implementation has been uneven but key reforms are moving forward. All end-September 2009 quantitative performance criteria were met, with the exception of the ceiling on the overall budget...

This 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Lithuanian economy is undergoing a severe adjustment, after years of rapid economic growth and financial integration. With the global financial crisis, the unwinding of the imbalances accumulated during the boom has led to a sharp economic...

Raising growth on a sustainable basis and addressing widespread poverty are the main challenges for Paraguay. The macroeconomic program for 2007 aims at raising growth and reducing inflation. IMF staff recommends that the next Article IV Consultation continues within the 24-month cycle, and...

Burundi is emerging from more than a decade of civil conflict that started with the 1993 coup d’état against its first elected government. Macroeconomic developments in 2005 were broadly in line with the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program, although growth was lower at about...

This paper discusses the 2006 Article IV Consultation for Moldova and Request for a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. The economic growth of Moldova has continued to be robust, although the drivers of growth—household consumption and...

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...

This paper discusses the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Performance Criteria and Rephasing of the Program. The 2007 fiscal deficit target increased modestly to 1 percent of GDP. Taxes were cut and budget...