The authors compare the implementation of two apparently similar stabilization programs by two reforming socialist countries, launched two weeks apart (Dec. 1989 in Yugoslavia and Jan. 1990 in Poland). They investigate possible differences underlying the apparently similar programs that may...

A key question for stabilization programs concerns how governments get into fiscal difficulty in the first place. Accordingly, this paper is about fiscal policy issues that arise during such macroeconomic stabilization in developing economies. Specifically, this report sets out the basics, as...

For almost twenty years, Pakistan's fiscal deficit, at about 7 percent of GNP, averaged nearly twice the level for Asian countries as a whole. This paper examines the causes of Pakistan's fiscal deficits. The authors examine why, despite these deficits, the country's macroeconomic performance...

Malaysia's sustained growth in the 1970s was boosted by windfall gains during two oil price hikes plus a commodity boom. Oil and commodity prices fell in the 1980s and Malaysia, an oil exporter, bungled into a rather severe depression in 1985-86. But it recovered quickly, to the surprise of some...

This paper begins by examining the existing conceptual framework for stabilization policies and inquires into the question as to an appropriate framework for adjustment policies. Next, the instruments of adjustment policies are briefly reviewed; followed by a discussion of the principal types of...

In practice, conventional measures of the fiscal deficit exclude the activities of public financial institutions. As a result, fiscal policies may be applied inappropriately when these institutions - especially the central bank - run large losses (the quasi-fiscal deficit). The macroeconomic...

This paper reviews the literature and country experience on the macroeconomics of fiscal policy in low income Africa. Given the experience of the 70's and 80's, the ultimate focus of the discussion must be the interaction of fiscal policy with the challenges of stabilization and structural...

The aim of this paper is to examine the implications for certain key macroeconomic variables in relation to reductions in public spending. In particular, the paper looks at; the rate of inflation, the interest rate, and the rate of growth of real GNP. The paper develops an intertemporal general...

The debate on fiscal policy in Europe centers on how to let automatic stabilizers work while achieving fiscal consolidation. There is significant agreement on the importance of using fiscal policy as a counter-cyclical instrument, as monetary policy can no longer play this role. In contrast,...

The authors show that the potential benefit to a host country of forward markets or of foreign exchange guarantees depend on the investor's country of origin and on specific characteristics of investment. They show this in terms of the effects on foreign-exchange risks and on the amount of...