The ending of the civil war has brought to the fore the need to reconstruct the Angolan economy and address the problem of widespread poverty. A strong medium-term fiscal adjustment effort, including a reduction of the National Bank of Angola's operational deficit, is needed. The government...

This 2002 Article IV Consultation highlights that since mid-2001, a combination of budget restraint, ambitious energy price adjustments, and prudent monetary policy moderated domestic demand and reduced the current account deficit in Romania. At the same time, export and GDP growth were among...

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 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that following three years of sluggish economic growth, activity in Guatemala improved somewhat in 2004, with real GDP rising by 2¾ percent, but consumer price inflation drifted upward to more than 9 percent. Monetary policy is being geared to...

The Madagascar Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) includes detailed description of poverty developments and the profile of the poor. The diagnostic section shows that the rural poor largely depend on agriculture, especially the production of rice. The IMF staff especially commends the PRSP...

This paper focuses on the Islamic Republic of Mauritania’s Sixth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and a Request for Waiver of Performance Criterion. Performance under the PRGF-supported program remained strong in 2002. All the quantitative and structural...

Nepal’s public debt-to-GDP ratio is set to decline from 68 percent of GDP at end-2002–03 over the medium term. The 2003–04 budget makes a start in implementing the medium-term fiscal strategy. Government spending will be redirected to social sectors, for poverty alleviation,...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that Dominica is recovering from the aftermath of an economic and financial crisis in 2001–02 when output contracted by 10 percent. The reform strategy has been successful. Economic growth has recovered to more than 3 percent a year and is set...

This paper assesses the First Review Under the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for Afghanistan. The authorities have met all of the indicative quantitative targets set out under the SMP and all the structural benchmarks, except the benchmark on licensing of commercial banks, which was only partly...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.