A number of developing countries have run large and persistent current account deficits in both the late seventies/early eighties and in the early nineties, raising the issue of whether these persistent imbalances are sustainable. This paper puts forward a notion of current account...

This paper describes economic developments in Colombia during the 1990s. Economic activity slowed in 1991 as financial policies were tightened to curb inflation. However, activity rebounded strongly to an average of 5 percent a year in 1992–94, buoyed by the trade and financial liberalization,...

This paper reviews economic developments in Colombia during 1990–95. In 1990–94, Colombia built upon the structural reforms initiated in the mid-1980s. The administration achieved its objective for output but not for inflation. Real GDP growth averaged 4.0 percent in 1990–94 and reached an...

The paper reviews the basis for the use of various popular exchange rate indicators by tracing their conceptual development, the links between these indicators, and how they are measured in actual practice. It also considers the difficulties often encountered in attempting to obtain empirical...

The earmarking (or setting aside) of revenues from various taxes for specific types of expenditure is a much maligned fiscal practice. The paper examines a number of theoretical arguments and institutional circumstances under which earmarking (even widespread earmarking) may be welfare...

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix analyzes economic developments in Colombia during 1996–99. Output growth slowed sharply in 1996 and early 1997, but subsequently rebounded owing to stronger exports, a temporary boom in world coffee prices, and an easing of credit policy....

After 25 years, the Colombian authorities decided to abandon the crawling peg exchange rate policy and implement a regime of nominal exchange rate bands. Initial conditions in Colombia contrast sharply with those of other cases in which bands were part of an ongoing effort to reduce high...

This 1999 Article IV Consultation highlights that the recession in Colombia intensified in 1999. The unemployment rate rose to a record 20 percent in September, while inflation fell to 91⁄2 percent and the current account deficit came down sharply. The fiscal position deteriorated markedly...

The Colombian economy proved resilient to the global financial crisis, and a solid recovery is under way. The pace of monetary tightening envisaged strikes the right balance between restraining credit growth and mitigating incentives for further capital inflows. A sudden acceleration of domestic...

Economic performance of Colombia deteriorated in 1998 and the recession has deepened further. The weak economic activity helped to lower the inflation and to narrow the external current account deficit. The fiscal position and the health of the financial sector continued to deteriorate. The...