After recovering rapidly from the Great Recession, the Canadian economy has slowed down in 2012. Growth weakened in the first three quarters of 2012, and recent indicators have suggested that the pace of economic expansion remained subpar in the fourth quarter. The fiscal policy has continued to...

This paper is an account of the economic conditions of the Solomon Islands. The macroeconomic situation has shown a considerable expansion in recent years with the external buffers intact. Although the Islands have shown good growth, the IMF staff expects only a moderate performance in 2013 and...

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...

Kosovo’s macroeconomic and financial policies have remained broadly on track. Progress continues to be made toward the key objectives, i.e., restoring a sustainable fiscal position and sufficient government cash buffers, anchoring fiscal policy, and enhancing the resilience of the...

This report discusses Malaysia’s economic accomplishment and other economic reforms. Malaysia has attained a strong growth in 2012, and a robust growth is expected in the next term. The financial position of Malaysia is sound and supported by a strong regulatory framework with high bank...

This staff report on the Republic of Serbia’s Article IV Consultation highlights economic background and policies. The global financial crisis exposed Serbia’s unsustainable growth model and its key vulnerabilities. Robust growth has not taken off, and economic activity is below...

This paper discusses Jamaica’s Second Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria. Program performance is on track despite the difficult economic environment. All end-September quantitative performance...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Czech economy, despite its strong fundamentals, is in the midst of a prolonged recession because of the euro area slump and weak domestic demand. A further slowdown in the euro area would exacerbate the situation, creating the risk of lower...