The 2014 Article IV Consultation discusses economic developments and policies in Belgium. It highlights that despite its resilience, the Belgium economy has been losing competitiveness due to higher labor cost and lower productivity growths than peer countries. The government has taken measures...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Spanish economy accumulated large imbalances during the long boom that ended with the global financial crisis. Unemployment soared, the fiscal position deteriorated sharply, and funding conditions tightened for both the public and private...

This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic activity in Algeria has picked up in 2014, with real GDP growth projected to reach 4 percent following 2.8 percent growth in 2013. The hydrocarbon sector is expected to expand for the first time in eight years, while nonhydrocarbon...

This 2015 Article IV Consultation highlights that Belgian economy has shown considerable resilience but the outlook is weighed down by weak demand in Europe. Healthy private balance sheets, integration with Germany, and employment support schemes have helped sustain employment and economic...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Czech economy, despite its strong fundamentals, is in the midst of a prolonged recession because of the euro area slump and weak domestic demand. A further slowdown in the euro area would exacerbate the situation, creating the risk of lower...

KEY ISSUES Context. Saudi Arabia’s economy has grown very strongly in recent years, benefitting from high oil prices and output, strong private sector activity, and government spending. It has played a systemic and stabilizing role in the global oil market. The economy has not been...

This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that Finland’s strong economic record has stalled. The economy has been in recession for three of the last five years, and unemployment is now more than 8 percent, with more people without work for longer. The shortfall in growth, coming at a...

This 2013 Article IV Consultation highlights that after a brief stabilization in 2010, the recession in the Slovenia resumed in 2011 and the economy now has contracted for eight consecutive quarters. Although a sharp contraction in investment was the main driver of the downturn in the early...

This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economy of France fared better than most other large euro areas economies through the crisis, reflecting the resilience of private consumption, lack of financial fragmentation, and lower levels of household and corporate debt. Banks’...