The Philippines demonstrated significant economic growth--and is still gaining momentum--in recent years. This was after being tagged as the 'sick man of Asia' for showing slow growth while its Asian neighbors flourished. To sustain the current growth momentum and make it inclusive, transforming...

Although an optimal exchange rate regime is dependent on country’s characteristics, intermediate regimes, especially the Managed Floating Plus (MFP) regime and Basket, Band and Crawling Peg (BBC) regime, seem to be viable options for developing countries. This work aims to analyze the issue of...

We introduce a new time series measure of the extent of federal regulation in the U.S. and use it to investigate the relationship between federal regulation and macroeconomic performance. We find that regulation has statistically and economically significant effects on aggregate output and the...

Despite the growing literature, central bank independence (CBI) is still one of the most controversial and frequently discussed issues in macroeconomics. This paper re-examines the role of central bank independence in macroeconomic outcomes, seeking to add to the existing empirical literature in...

This study estimates an aid-growth model and an aid-fiscal model to quantify the effects of foreign aid on GDP growth and fiscal behavior in Bangladesh over the 1973-1999 period. The aid-growth model applies the cointegration method to a neoclassical growth model and finds that aid has marginal...

Uruguay has consolidated economic gains, supported by strong macroeconomic policies and a broadly favorable external environment. Growth has exceeded expectations, unemployment has reached record lows, and poverty has continued to fall, while economic vulnerabilities have been significantly...

The recent global financial crisis has exposed the limitations of a conventional inflation targeting framework in insulating an economy from all shocks, and demonstrated that its rigid application may aggravate the effect of shocks on output and inflation. Possible refinements to the inflation...

Sound policies and favorable external conditions have led to a strong economic recovery, but important challenges lie ahead. Uruguay’s near-term economic prospects are generally favorable. The main short-term challenge is rising inflation in the wake of vigorous growth and capital...

This paper presents the staff report for Peru’s 2008 Article IV Consultation, Fourth Review and Inflation Consultation under the Stand-By Arrangement and request for waiver of applicability of performance criteria. Peru has been liberalizing external trade through tariff reductions in...

The staff report for the 2006 Article IV Consultation on Botswana highlights economic developments and monetary and exchange rate policy. Botswana’s growth has been fueled by continued increases in diamond production; and real diamond output is projected to level off, and then decline...