The completion of the Second Review Under the Poverty Reduction Growth Facility Arrangement was delayed to address important governance and transparency concerns. Macroeconomic performance was strong in the year 2005. Policy discussions focused on improving macroeconomic management against the...

This Selected Issues paper on Panama explores the current situation and trends of the Caja del Seguro Social (CSS) in Panama. The autonomy is embedded in its Organic Law, which also provides the agency with the right to have separate funds from the central government. The slowdown in economic...

The Congolese authorities requested an IMF staff-monitored program (SMP), in support of the economic program they spelled out in the accompanying Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP). The Democratic Republic of the Congo showed remarkable macroeconomic stability under the Poverty...

The Dominican Republic has been working with the IMF to become a participant in the General Data Dissemination System, and already meets many of the recommendations and some of the encouraged categories for dissemination of macroeconomic statistics. The Dominican Republic has a statistical...

This paper reviews the progress report on implementation of the National Strategy for Socio-Economic Development (NSSED) during 2004 in Albania. The NSSED established a multiyear plan to combat poverty and strengthen governance. The main implication of the Integrated Planning System for the...

This report presents a description of the stress test exercises for Spain’s banking and insurance systems. The exercises were carried out in the context of the Financial Sector Assessment Program with the aim of assessing the resilience of the financial system to key risks. It describes the...

This Selected Issues paper quantifies the macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy in Spain, focusing on the external sector. It describes the stylized facts of the Spanish economy and presents an econometric analysis. It examines Spain’s growth and productivity performance in relation to a...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that Georgia’s economy has performed well over the last two years, and the fiscal turnaround has been impressive. Since the change in government in late 2003, Georgia has demonstrated strong fiscal performance and a renewed commitment to press ahead...

The staff report for the Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) on the Republic of Croatia highlights fiscal policy and monetary and financial sector policies. The policy implementation under this SBA has yielded sizable fiscal consolidation and advances in structural reforms,...

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