Fiscal problems have long been considered a central feature of financial--that is, currency, debt, and banking--crises. This paper addresses four questions: What are the fiscal causes of crises? Which fiscal vulnerability indicators help to predict crises? Can fiscal variables explain the...

Despite the impact of Hurricane Ivan, the economic activity of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has strengthened. Executive Directors welcomed the developments and the tax policy aimed to broaden the tax base and reduce concessions. They appreciated the home-grown Interim Poverty Reduction...

In 2007, imports of consumer, intermediate, and capital goods grew at annual rates slightly exceeding 10 percent. Export growth lagged behind that of imports, as buoyant nontraditional exports, rising at a 16 percent annual rate, were offset by stagnant exports of the maquila sector. In...

Switzerland showed commendable economic growth with low inflation and increasing employment. Executive Directors commended the prudent macroeconomic management, sound monetary and fiscal policy frameworks, structural reforms, and flexible labor markets. They noted that the monetary policy...

Kuwait’s 2006 Article IV Consultation reports that its macroeconomic performance has been strong in recent years reflecting sharply higher oil and non-oil activity. Over the medium term, Kuwait’s financial position is projected to remain strong. The large external current account and fiscal...

The Slovak Republic’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that sound macroeconomic management and a wide range of fundamental structural reforms are supporting nominal convergence with European Union norms. Real GDP growth accelerated to 6 percent in 2005, driven by an improvement in the...

Sweden’s 2005 Article IV Consultation reports that strong productivity gains, wage moderation, and falling nonenergy import prices contributed to reducing inflation, and creating room for aggressive monetary easing. Export growth has been led by a strong recovery in the telecommunications and...

This report on the Russian Federation’s Article IV Consultation highlights Data Module and response by the authorities. Russia’s statistical system has made good progress in adopting international statistical methodologies in response to the need to capture in the statistics the country’s...

Following the 15-year civil war that started in 1975, Lebanon's government began the difficult task of economic stabilization and confidence building, on the one hand, and postwar reconstruction and development, on the other. The government led the reconstruction effort by formulating programs...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that macroeconomic results for Romania were not as strong in 2005 compared with 2004 on account of both internal and external factors. Growth slowed to 4.1 percent in 2005, with agricultural output falling as a result of floods, and industrial output...