This paper surveys the main theoretical approaches for analyzing movements in the current account of the balance of payments, from the Mundell-Fleming paradigm to modern intertemporal approaches. It discusses the main implications of these analyses for policymaking, highlighting that modern...

Israel was mildly affected by the global recession: following a slowdown in 2009, output is projected to grow by some 4 percent in 2010, led by consumption and exports. Robust fundamentals—including sustained pre-crisis fiscal consolidation—and a swift monetary and fiscal policy response to...

The study shows that the Israeli economy has emerged unscathed from the global financial crisis. The first part of the study outlines the relationship between risk and Israel’s macroeconomic performance, estimated through a regression analysis. The second part of the study focuses on...

Israel’s post-stabilization experience of moderate inflation and eventual disinflation is compared with experiences in other countries. Lessons that emerge from an examination of international experiences indicate the importance of establishing early on credibility in the nominal anchor and a...

Financial decisions of economic agents are based on volatility considerations. However, no aggregate indicators have been used by policymakers and regulators to assess the market risk environment. This paper applies a market volatility indicator to analyze the Israeli''s transition toward...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that strong macroeconomic conditions and sound domestic policies have significantly improved Israel’s growth performance and prospects, notwithstanding political uncertainties and the hostilities in the north during the summer of 2006. Inflation...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country

This staff report discusses Israel’s 2009 Article IV Consultation on economic developments and policies. The economy has been shielded from the global downturn by the absence of prior housing or bank credit booms, high household savings rates, and the fact that investment goods and consumer...

This Selected Issues paper on Israel focuses on the fiscal institutions and the political economy in Israel. The paper addresses two questions. First, is there evidence for political-economy distortions to Israel’s fiscal policy? Second, what institutional changes could help in limiting these...

This report assesses Observance of Standards and Codes on Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) for Israel. Israel has made significant progress in strengthening its regime for AML/CFT since 2000. Overall,...