This Selected Issues paper on Solomon Island discusses big data and high frequency surveillance for Pacific Islands countries (PICs). Big data can be used to fill data gaps for PICs and the IMF can serve as a capacity-building and innovation hub. The estimators computed based on AIS data have...

This 2023 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economy is recovering from multiple shocks in the past three years, but the recovery is still fragile in the Solomon Islands. Near-term fiscal policy should focus on prudent execution of the 2023 budget, followed by rebuilding of the...

This Selected Issues paper utilizes a new macro-model capturing food insecurity, migration and trade in Nepal. It shows that low yields and remoteness explain a majority of the difference in prevalence of food insecurity across districts in Nepal; both climate shocks and persistent...

This paper presents Nepal's the 2023 Article IV Consultation, First and Second Reviews under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement, Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, Extension of the Arrangement, and Rephasing of Disbursements. Completion of the first and...

This Selected Issues paper proposes two new drivers of corporate cash holdings and tests them using firm-level data in Japan. In Japan, private savings have shifted from households to the corporate sector. The first driver is the rising share of intangible capital. The second contributing factor...

This 2023 Article IV Consultation highlights that the Japanese economy continues to recover driven by domestic demand while a weaker global economy has been weighing on external demand. The economic recovery is projected to continue in the near term amid pent-up demand, supply chain...

This paper presents Papua New Guinea's Requests for an Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and an Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The 38-month arrangement will support Papua New Guinea's reform agenda, which seeks to help protect the vulnerable and...

This paper presents Sri Lanka's Request for an Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The objectives of the EFF-supported program are to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, safeguarding financial stability, and stepping up structural reforms to unlock...

This 2023 Article IV Consultation discusses that following a successful coronavirus disease 2019 containment strategy, the border reopened in July 2022, and tourism is returning to Vanuatu. Economic activity is expected to be strong in the near term, with real gross domestic product growing...

Growth in Asia and the Pacific is projected to increase this year to 4.6 percent, up from 3.8 percent in 2022, an upgrade of 0.3 percent from the October 2022 World Economic Outlook. This means the region would contribute over 70 percent to global growth. Asia's dynamism will be driven primarily...