This Selected Issues paper reviews the extent to which growth in Ethiopia has translated into higher living standards. A key feature of the economic strategy has been an explicit commitment to poverty reduction and structural transformation. This is underpinned by the vision of a...

India’s financial system compares favorably internationally, but rising credit risk and liquidity pressures are putting it under strain. The staff report for India’s 2008 Article IV Consultation discusses economic developments and policies. The authorities have already taken...

This paper is an analysis of Japan’s credit channel. The economic condition has no hindrance, but credit demand showed an inert performance. The state’s policies have helped the flow of finance and prevent bankruptcy, but several other aspects act as an impediment to credit...

This Selected Issues paper analyzes the underlying factors that explain the behavior of the Kiwi dollar. The findings suggest that the factors influencing the New Zealand dollar have been changing. The paper discusses that as New Zealand has become more integrated in global capital markets over...

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has weathered the global financial crisis reasonably well so far, although tighter global financial conditions began to take their toll on trade, capital flows and economic growth in late 2008. This resilience reflects the reforms put in place by many...

In just over a decade after independence, the three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, have transformed themselves into fully functioning, small open-market economies that will be joining the European Union. Capital Markets and Financial Intermediation in The Baltics analyzes the...

The new international financial architecture can help African countries benefit from globalization, while minimizing the risks, and foster an environment conducive to increased domestic investment and higher sustained growth. This paper highlights the progress that African countries have made in...

All financial institutions specialize, in dimensions that may include categories of assets and liabilities, types of services offered, customer demographics, and geographic coverage. The International Monetary Fund is the only international financial institution that is universal in its...

This paper assesses whether regional cooperation and integration of stock exchanges in eastern and southern Africa could offer a way of overcoming impediments to the exchanges' development. The paper concludes that regional cooperation and, at a later stage, integration, if carried out at the...