The IMF’s principal statistical publication, International Financial Statistics (IFS) Online, is the standard source of international statistics on all aspects of international and domestic finance. For most countries, IFS Online reports data on balance of payments, international investment...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the dynamic effect of social and political instability on output. Using a panel of up to 183 countries from 1980 to 2010, the results of the paper suggest that social conflicts have a significant and negative impact on output in the short-term with the...

The global financial crisis was a stark reminder of the importance of cross-country linkages in the global economy. We document growth synchronization across a diverse group of 185 countries covering 7 regions, and pay particular attention to the period around the global financial crisis. A...

Inspired by the experience of some advanced economies and to enhance creditworthiness, recently a number of emerging market economies adopted rules limiting government deficits, expenditures, or indebtedness. This volume consists of 15 chapters—written by distinguished policy analysts and...

Global economic prospects have improved again, but the bumpy recovery and skewed macroeconomic policy mix in advanced economies are complicating policymaking in emerging market economies. Chapter 3 examines the prospects for inflation, particularly because inflation was remarkably stable in the...

The permanent income hypothesis implies that frictionless open economies with exhaustible natural resources should save abroad most of their resource windfalls and, therefore, feature current account surpluses. Resource-rich developing countries (RRDCs), on the other hand, face substantial...

This paper surveys markets for corporate debt securities in the major industrial countries and the international markets. The discussion includes a comparison of the sizes of the markets for various products, as well as the key operational, institutional, and legal features of primary and...

In managing their foreign exchange exposure, international investors, including central banks, often compare actual portfolios with hypothetical portfolios that have been calculated using certain assumptions regarding the statistical properties of interest rates and exchange rates. One of these...

This paper highlights key macroeconomic issues related to VAT harmonization. A model is developed which emphasizes the effects of changes in the time profile of various taxes on international behavior. Dynamic simulations reveal that the macroeconomic and welfare implications of VAT...

The sheer size of mandated trade among members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), and its composition and quality, means that its reorientation toward other markets entails a whole complex of structural adjustment policies. To be successful, policy reform must be...