We were asked by the Independent Evaluation Office to outline political science methods for assessing the chances of reform implementation in an ex-ante fashion. We agreed to illustrate how these tools 'work' by using Pakistan as a case study. The recent literature on IMF-sponsored reforms...

This paper assesses how electoral outcomes in both presidential and legislative elections in Latin America have been affected by the adoption of economic policies that seek to improve macroeconomic stability and facilitate the functioning of markets. The database includes 17 Latin American...

Vor gut zwei Jahren hat die Türkei ein Stabilisierungsprogramm aufgelegt, das vor allem eine Senkung der sehr hohen Inflation zum Ziel hatte; vom Internationalen Währungsfonds (IWF) wurde es durch ein Beistandsabkommen finanziell unterstützt. Wegen erheblicher Probleme bei der Umsetzung des...

The strong recovery of the five crisis-affected countries of East Asia between 1999 and 2000 has revived the debate on the causes of the 1997 financial crisis. Initially there had been an emerging consensus that the crisis had originated from the capital account. However, some analysts see the...

The memo summarizes the design and use of the IMF's precautionary facilities since their introduction and discusses lessons and potential reform options. In particular, the framework for these facilities should be adjusted to address prolonged use at high access levels.

Die Währungs-, Finanz- und Wechselkurskrisen in Mexiko (1995), in Südostasien (1997-1998), in Russland und Venezuela (1998), sowie in Brasilien und Ekuador (1999) zeigen einen ähnlichen Prozess der Wirtschafts- und Finanzinstabilität von Peripherieländer. Alle diese Länder führten in...

The increasing occurrence of national, regional, and global financial crises, together with their rising costs and complexity, have increased calls for greater regional and global monetary cooperation. This is particularly necessary in light of volatile capital flow movements that can quickly...