The Chilean pension reform of 1981, a shift from cm unfunded to a funded scheme, is considered to have contributed to this country’s excellent economic performance. Positive growth effects allow, in principle, a Pareto-improving shift in pension financing. This paper highlights the theoretical...

This paper highlights that the growth of world economic activity in 1991 is expected to fall to a scant 1 percent, the lowest in any year since 1982, when the industrial economies were in recession. The slowdown in the expansion of world trade would be considerably more pronounced. Output growth...

In this issue, a team of economists look at approaches to modeling the use of IMF resources in order to gauge whether the recent decline in credit outstanding is a temporary or permanent phenomenon. Era Dabla-Norris and Gabriela Inchauste examine what drives the growth of firms, with a focus on...

This paper analyzes portfolio diversification, leverage, and financial contagion. It studies the extent to which basic principles of portfolio diversification explain “contagious selling” of financial assets when there are purely local shocks. The paper demonstrates that the elementary...

The World Economic Outlook (WEO) presents the IMF’s leading economists’ analyses of global economic developments during the near and medium terms. It is a respected, one-stop, trusted resource offering remarkable insight, balance, and perspective to decision makers and policymakers...

This paper highlights that world economic activity showed signs of revival in the first half of 1992 as some major economies slowly began to emerge from the cyclical downturns of 1990–91. During the next 12 months, world growth is expected to continue to recover at a moderate pace. Following...

This paper highlights that the performance of the world economy in the first half of 1988 has been considerably more satisfactory than was expected in the wake of the sharp stock market decline in October 1987. Output in industrial countries has grown strongly, world trade has been robust, and...

This paper highlights that world economic growth is estimated to have declined from 31⁄4 percent in 1989 to 2 percent in 1990, reflecting a slowdown in the industrial countries and a fall in economic activity in developing countries of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Western...

This paper describes the world economy in 1991 and balanced growth in industrial countries. The year 1985 has been somewhat disappointing from the viewpoint of economic growth. Expansion fell back by more than expected in the industrial world, and world trade increased only modestly....

This paper highlights that after several years of rapid expansion that brought many countries to historically high levels of resource utilization, the growth of the world economy is projected to slow to about 2 percent in 1990 from 3 percent in 1989. The global slowdown would reflect a...