This paper discusses key findings of the Fifth Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement for Hungary. All end-December 2009 quantitative performance criteria, the continuous performance criterion on nonaccumulation of external arrears, and the indicative target on central government debt were met....

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that India’s economy has continued to grow above trend, with an average growth of 8 percent in the last three years. Growth is broad based, with robust consumption, investment, and exports. With manufacturing expanding at more than 10 percent...

This paper examines Uruguay’s Fifth Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Requests for Modification of the Arrangement and Waiver of Nonobservance and Applicability of Performance Criteria. The macroeconomic framework is broadly on track, but progress with structural reform remains...

This paper presents the primary institutions and economic policies that have led to Chile’s remarkable record of stability and growth over the past twenty years. The core of this policy stance is the combination of fiscal discipline and an open trade policy regime, together with carefully...

We employ an extended version of the Allen et al. (2002) Balance Sheet Approach to examine macroeconomic vulnerabilities in Colombia between 1996 and 2003, based on an unusually rich data set. We find that vulnerabilities existing prior to Colombia's 1999 recession-high levels of private debt, a...

This paper discusses key findings of the Third Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement for Hungary. The end-June 2009 quantitative performance criteria, as well as the structural benchmark related to government lending to banks, were all met. The end-June indicative target on central government...

The staff report for the 2008 Article IV Consultation of Israel on economic developments and policies is examined. Fiscal and monetary credentials have been established in markets. Banks and their supervisory arrangements have been robust, and growth has been strong, sustained, and balanced....

The Sixth Review Under the Extended Arrangement with Ireland highlights that Ireland’s policy implementation has continued to be steadfast. Ownership of the program remains strong despite the considerable challenges the country is facing. Ireland’s progress in strengthening the...

This paper discusses proposals for common euro area sovereign securities. Such instruments can potentially serve two functions: in the short-term, stabilize financial markets and banks and, in the medium-term, help improve the euro area economic governance framework through enhanced fiscal...

We test the hypothesis that net foreign asset positions are consistent with external solvency and examine the dynamics of external adjustment using data for 50 countries over the 1970-2006 period. Our analysis adapts Bohn's (2007) error-correction reaction function approach - which tests for a...