This Selected Issues paper for the Solomon Islands reviews budget trends in the past decade and assesses medium-term budget prospects. Aid flows and revenue from import tariffs and logging are projected to decline. Spending pressures are likely to pick up considerably, owing to the need to...

This 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s (PDR) economy has performed well in recent years, owing to generally stable macroeconomic conditions and a rapidly expanding natural resource sector. Real GDP growth has averaged more than 7...

The Executive Board of the IMF has completed the fifth review of Greece’s economic performance under a program supported by a three-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for the country. The completion of the review enables the immediate disbursement of an amount equivalent to SDR1.9 billion,...

The global economic and financial crisis found the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a vulnerable position. The government put together a comprehensive program supported by the International Monetary Fund. The stabilization program has helped mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis...

Guinea is emerging from a prolonged period of political crisis. The new government has taken bold steps to address the serious macroeconomic imbalances. The intention to establish a special fund to govern spending from the recent windfall from the mining sector is commended by Executive...

Syria faces two interrelated medium-term challenges posed by the prospective decline in its oil reserves. The recently approved five-year plan (FYP) laid down a comprehensive strategy to address these challenges. Syria’s public finances are headed for challenging times in the coming...

Yemen is confronted with a range of difficult economic challenges. The reduction in oil revenues in the past year has affected the Yemeni economy through a set of direct and indirect channels. The loss of oil revenue contributed to a record fiscal deficit of about 10 percent of GDP in 2009,...

Global economic developments in Guinea-Bissau, especially lower export demand and prices, are expected to slow growth significantly and put pressure on the balance of payments. The 2009 fiscal framework aims to stabilize public finances and avoid new domestic arrears. The authorities are...