Faced with a steadily worsening economy, the government of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic took its first steps toward reforming its centrally planned economy in December 1979. The reform process gathered momentum with the introduction of the New Economic Mechanism in 1985, as the...

This paper was prepared by Bijan B. Aghevli, Division Chief in the international Monetary Fund's Asian Department, and Jorge Marquez-Ruarte, Senior Economist in the Asian Department. In preparing the paper, the authors have relied extensively on the analysis and information provided by the...

This paper provides a review of recent developments and an assessment of short-term prospects for private international capital markets, which constitute one of the main sources of international capital flows.

This study explores the industrial and developing countries use of capital controls since World War II, including their rationales for using them, and describes their experiences with relaxing controls as part of broader liberalization and structural reform efforts. The papers also outlines the...

This report on the World Economic Outlook like the one published last year is the outgrowth of a comprehensive staff project involving a number of departments of the Fund.

This paper examines the problems in establishing currency convertibility- and the optimal timing- in formerly planned economies making the transition to market-oriented systems.

For over 10 years, the IMF has supported adjustment and reform programs in many of its low-income members through two facilities established specifically for that purpose - the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) and its precursor the Structural Adjustment Facility (SAF). By the end...

As part of its mandate, the IMF seeks to create the conditions necessary for sustained high-quality growth, which encompasses a broad range of elements. These include sound macroeconomic policies, growth-enhancing structural reforms, good governance, and such social policies as cost-effective...