Russia's decade-long economic expansion accelerated in 2007-08 - despite worsening global conditions. But with the economy likely overheating, the new government has to adjust its macroeconomic policy mix to reduce inflation. And to ensure sustainable economic growth, it has to tackle the...

The world has entered the first global recession since the Second World War. The impact of the crisis worldwide is proving far deeper and broader than previously thought. The impact on Russia has been accentuated by its structural vulnerabilities: dependence on the oil and gas sector, a narrow...

2009 has been a difficult year, with larger-than-expected losses in output and employment and a sharp rise in poverty. But the Russian economy, aided by higher oil prices and stronger global demand, is beginning to turn around - very slowly. In 2010, it could grow modestly from a low base, by...

The global recession has deepened, with larger than expected declines in output and employment in many countries, Russia included. Global output is now expected to decline full 2.9 percent in 2009, with high-income countries hardest hit. Real economy and social impact on Russia was also larger...

Russia is likely to witness robust but jobless recovery in the short term. Reforms aimed at modernizing public sector, strengthening financial sector, improving investment climate and diversifying the economy have become all the more important as a result of the crisis. The Russian economy is...

Amid heightened global uncertainties, Russia is experiencing a bumpy recovery. Domestic demand is rising, but unemployment remains high, and credit and investment remain limited. The budget has benefited from higher oil prices, but fiscal consolidation remains important in the medium term....

With heightened uncertainties and moderating global and Western European growth and oil prices, and volatile capital flows, Russia is likely to grow by 4.2 percent in 2010, followed by 4.5 percent in 2011 and 3.5 percent in 2012 as domestic demand expands in line with gradual improvements in the...

After a 4 percent growth in 2010, Russia's real output is expected to grow 4.4 percent in 2011, increasingly driven by domestic demand. The country emerged from the global recession with lower-than-expected unemployment and poverty. Although in the short term, high oil prices will help Russia's...

The purpose of this paper is to determine the main causes of the Belarus high inflation during the period 1996-2001. Using a co-integration framework, we arrived at an over-identified long-run structure, suggesting that money is co-integrated with wages, but not with prices. We also estimated...

The author provides a preliminary benchmarking of infrastructure performance in Lesotho in four major sectors - electricity, water and sanitation, information and communication technology, and road transportation - against the relevant group of comparator countries using a new World Bank...