This Financial System Stability Assessment on Turkey discusses macroeconomic development and trend in the financial system. The financial system does not appear to face major immediate threats, but vulnerabilities remain. Turkey remains dependent on capital inflows and thus on international...

The Slovak economy showed recovery from sharp recession. Executive Directors suggested that restoring fiscal sustainability and removing unemployment while maintaining external competitiveness within the monetary union should be given priority. The fiscal consolidation strategy could be...

The staff report examines Cameroon’s Sixth Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility and Request for Waiver of Performance Criterion. The authorities stressed their interest in a successor IMF program to support Cameroon’s medium-term...

Over the last three years, a rapid expansion in domestic demand has dramatically widened the current account deficit in Iceland. Demand expanded faster than supply, and evidence of overheating is widespread. Monetary policy has tightened, but, until recently, the impact has been channeled...

This paper discusses implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) in Mauritania. The second phase of the PRSP is accompanied by a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2006–10. MTEF determines the overall cost of the action plan in terms of both current and capital...

The Eighth Review Under the Extended Arrangement discusses Ireland’s fiscal policy, financial reforms, economic growth, and employment. The policy implementation of Ireland continued to remain strong, even though the country has been susceptible to global financial shocks....

The current high Southern African Customs Unions revenues should be used to implement fiscal measures to secure fiscal sustainability and support economic growth. The government should formulate a financial sector strategy that addresses Swaziland’s twin challenges of enhancing financial...

Romania’s GDP growth averaged more than 6½ percent per year from 2003 to 2008, as foreign direct investment and capital inflows helped finance high consumption and investment growth. The staff report for Romania’s request for a Stand-By Arrangement is also elaborated. Robust...

The global crisis, which was the worst economic and financial downturn since the Great Depression, revealed the fundamental deficiencies in the global financial system and drastically changed the way we view the world and the global financial system. The crisis challenged long-standing views and...

The article connects two streams of recent research on the financial sector. The first is the regulation literature, which emphasises the central role of incentives in the financial sector. It points out that the challenge of financial sector regulation, highlighted by the global financial...