Romania’s external position continues to improve. Inflation peaked in December 2010, and is now likely to decline. Financial market stress has remained relatively low in recent months. The current account deficit improved from 13½ percent of GDP in 2007 to about 4¼ percent of GDP in...

Fiscal problems have long been considered a central feature of financial--that is, currency, debt, and banking--crises. This paper addresses four questions: What are the fiscal causes of crises? Which fiscal vulnerability indicators help to predict crises? Can fiscal variables explain the...

This paper on the Baltic countries analyzes medium-term fiscal issues related to European Union (EU) and NATO accession. The paper supports the Baltic authorities’ intention to aim at balancing their budgets over the economic cycle. The paper describes the Baltics’ current fiscal...

Sao Tome and Principe stands at the threshold of the oil era. The government’s objective of stabilizing the non-oil primary fiscal deficit over the medium term is appropriate. Executive Directors support the government’s approach to monetary policy, which is consistent with the...

This paper discusses Uganda’s Sixth Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), Request for Waiver of Performance Criteria, and Request for a Policy Support Instrument (PSI). Performance relative to the sixth and final PRGF review was...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic activity in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) has accelerated since mid-2003 owing to an acceleration of activity in the tourism and construction sectors. Inflation has been stable and monetary aggregates have been expanding...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that Malta’s economic growth languished in 2004 for a fourth consecutive year. Slow growth reflected the weakness of, and increasing competition in, Malta’s export markets, as well as domestic factors. The slowdown had begun with shocks...

This paper examines Congo’s 2004 Article IV Consultation and New Staff-Monitored Program (SMP). In the context of improved security, the pace of economic activity in the non-oil sector has increased. Non-oil real GDP increased by about 10 percent per year on average during 2000–03....

This paper presents Indonesia’s 2005 Article IV Consultation and Third Post-Program Monitoring discussions. The economic strategy has produced positive results over time. Economic growth has gained momentum year by year, inflation has been substantially reduced, and the external position...

Slovakia is now one of the fastest-growing EU accession countries. Despite the upswing, the Slovak economy remains hampered by structural weaknesses and related macroeconomic imbalances. Over the medium term, IMF staff believes that Slovakia should aim for an external current account deficit...