Los subsidios a la energía tienen consecuencias económicas de amplio alcance. A pesar de que tienen por objeto proteger a los consumidores, los subsidios agravan los desequilibrios fiscales, desplazan gastos públicos prioritarios y deprimen la inversión privada, en particular en el sector de...

In late 1999 the IMF established the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) to integrate the objectives of poverty reduction and growth more fully into its operations for the poorest countries, and to base these operations on national poverty reduction strategies prepared by the country...

This Staff Discussion Note looks at the stark fiscal challenges posed by the decline and aging of populations between now and 2100. It finds that without reforms, pensions and health spending would rise to 25 percent of GDP by end-century in more developed countries (and 16 percent of GDP in...

The first sub-Saharan African country to pursue broad economic and structural reform - aided by external finance and technical aid - Ghana is an example of adjustment with growth. Ghana's experience, discussed in this paper, illustrates the need for complementary policy actions and the right...

More than a decade after the start of the transition process, unemployment rates remain in the double digits in a number of Central and Eastern European countries. That unemployment rates have failed to decline, even in countries experiencing good growth, is puzzling. In this paper the authors...