In January 1992, Kazakhstan initiated a reform programme to move towards market-determined prices. The price liberalization process was characterized by large relative price shifts and an increase in the overall price level towards those observed in market economies. The paper shows how the...

Several transition countries have experienced strong real exchange rate appreciations. This paper tests the hypothesis that these appreciations reflect underlying productivity gains in the tradable sector. Using panel data over the period 1993–98, the results show clear evidence of...

Poland stands out among transition economies as having experienced a relatively short and shallow contraction followed by sustained, vigorous growth. This paper examines various aspects of Poland's growth performance from 1992 through 1998 at the macroeconomic level as well as across sectors and...

We examine how the composition of public debt, broken down by currency, maturity, holder profile and marketability, has responded to major debt accumulation and consolidation episodes during 1900-2011. Covering thirteen advanced economies, we focus on debt structure shifts that occurred around...

Several transition countries have experienced strong real exchange rate appreciations.This paper tests the hypothesis that these appreciations reflect underlying productivity gains in the tradable sector.Using panel data over the period 1993 98, the results show clear evidence of...

In January 1992, Kazakstan initiated a reform program to move toward market-determined prices. The price liberalization process was characterized by large relative price shifts and an increase in the overall price level toward those observed in market economies. The paper shows how the piecemeal...

The paper identifies a number of stylized facts on the behavior of key macroeconomic variables during high inflation and stabilization in countries in transition. To examine the extent to which these stylized facts conform to the predictions of standard open economy monetary theory, the paper...

The paper documents institutional reforms that have taken place in the government debt markets of many industrial countries since the early 1980s, and investigates the impact of three key changes: (i) the move from relationship financing to market funding; (ii) the introduction of options; and...