This paper examines the role financial markets play in the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic development. We model an economy with a continuum of agents indexed by their level of ability. Agents can either work for the foreign company or undertake entrepreneurial...

This chapter discusses the impact of global recession on the working population and looks at the future of work in the global economy from a variety of angles. IMF economist Prakash Loungani leads off with an overview of the global jobs landscape and examines the reasons behind the slow recovery...

The September 2008 issue examines key issues facing low-income countries, including how they should respond to high oil and food prices. Some African economies are now successfully attracting international investors and are seen as a new tier of ""frontier"" emerging markets. Separate articles...

Commodity Boom: How Long Will It Last?"" asks how economies will fare after the record-high prices of key raw materials posted in recent months, which build on dramatic increases from their lows of 2000. The lead article warns that the impact on headline inflation levels might persist throughout...

Prize or Penalty: When Sports Help Economies Score"" looks at why countries vie to host the world's most costly sporting events. And, in a series of articles on ""After the Crisis,"" we discuss why some countries were hit harder than others; how were shocks transmitted round the world, and...

Determined macroeconomic policy, combined with favorable external developments, has reduced inflation, improved public finances, led to a stable currency, and helped strengthen the banking system in Egypt. Nonetheless, the task of delivering sustained growth of output and employment is...

This paper reviews economic developments in Azerbaijan during the 1990s. In 1992, approximately 70–80 percent of producer and consumer prices were liberalized, and enterprises were allowed greater latitude in their price and wage setting. However, price controls were applied on energy and...

Latin America: An End to Boom and Bust? covers prospects in that region, which has managed to sustain a decade of prosperity after a history of boom and bust cycles. In our cover story, Nicolás Eyzaguirre, Director of the IMF's Western Hemisphere Department, says Latin America has the potential...

Improving market access in industrial countries and retaining preferences have been Africa's two key objectives in the Doha Round trade negotiations. This paper argues that African negotiators may have overlooked the potential market access gains in developing countries, where trade barriers...

This paper reviews China's experience with market-oriented reform since 1978, including domestic reforms, the opening of the economy to foreign trade and investment, and the decentralization of decision making. It identifies special conditions that may have affected China's capacity to implement...