South Africa showed strong macroeconomic performance owing to its sound policies, which aimed at raising economic growth and reducing poverty, within a stable macroeconomic, social, and political environment. Executive Directors commended the strong economic performance, sustainable fiscal...

This Selected Issues paper for Algeria analyzes the growth prospects of the Algerian economy. Drawing on the findings of the empirical growth literature, the paper combines growth accounting and cross-country growth regressions to examine the role of macroeconomic and institutional factors in...

Of the new members entering the European Union (EU) in May 2004, several had achieved a decade of impressive export growth, expanding significantly their shares of world markets. The empirical analysis shows that over the period 1994–2004, quality and technology upgrading associated with...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that with high oil prices and a significant policy stimulus, the Iranian economy continued to grow strongly in 2005–06. Real GDP growth is estimated at 5½ percent. Oil GDP growth was modest owing to capacity constraints, while non-oil GDP...

The euro area recovered from the economic doldrums. Executive Directors welcomed the recovery, supported by strong financial conditions, global growth, and improved financial positions. They encouraged the reformed Stability and Growth Pact over fiscal policies, and underscored the need for...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes Senegal’s real effective exchange rate (REER) and external competitiveness. A REER significantly above its equilibrium, as determined by economic fundamentals, can impede a country’s external competitiveness, calling for corrective macroeconomic...

This 2007 Article IV Consultation highlights that macroeconomic conditions of Morocco remain strong. Average growth has reached 5.4 percent per year since 2001, 3.4 percentage points higher than in the 1990s, reflecting the ongoing diversification of the nonagricultural sector and its increased...

This Selected Issues paper assesses the impact of Vietnam’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession. It describes the main terms of Vietnam’s accession as regards trade in goods and services, and uses a partial equilibrium simulation model to estimate the likely impact of WTO...

The demand pressures associated with the large terms-of-trade gains are reflected in a fast real appreciation of the ruble, although more of this has come through nominal appreciation during the last year. The risks to the outlook are evenly balanced and depend mostly on oil price developments....

El Salvador has made major strides on several fronts since the peace accords of 1992. The near-term outlook has strengthened, although challenges remain. The authorities are intended to limit tax exemptions and subsidies, and raise priority of banking reforms this year. Discussions focused on...