Turning Off the Stimulus Tap

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

As the crisis winds down, the IMF has warned in a new report, “Exiting from Crisis Intervention Policies,” that it’s time for policymakers to implement strategies for exiting from crisis-related interventions policies. The appropriate timing, pace, and mode of exiting depends on the state of the economy and the health of the financial system.
However, the [...]

Controlling Capital Inflows

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

The IMF has just published, “Capital Inflows: the Role of Controls.” The paper reviews the arguments on the appropriate management of inflow surges and focuses in particular on the conditions under which controls may be justified. A key conclusion is that, if the economy is operating near potential, if the level of reserves is adequate, [...]

Rethinking Macroeconomic Policy

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published the paper, “Rethinking Macroeconomic Policy.” The aim of the paper is to lay out some key questions about the design of macroeconomic policy frameworks, as well as develop some ideas on how those frameworks might be strengthened.
The paper develops in three stages: Firstly, it provides an outline of [...]

Global Financial Stability Report

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

The IMF has just published the latest update of the World Economic Outlook and the Global Financial Stability Report, GFSR Market Update. The world economy is still on the road to recovery and, despite improving conditionals, financial stability remains fragile in many advanced countries and some hard-hit emerging market countries.
According to the report, the top [...]

IMF raises global economic growth forecast

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

The IMF has just published an update to its World Economic Outlook. According to the report, the world economy will expand by 3.9 percent in 2010 – much higher than the 3.1 percent it projected in October – and 4.3 percent in 2011. However, the recovery is proceeding at different speeds around the world, with [...]

Central Bank Accountability and Transparency

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

This report by KPMG identifies commonalities and variations in the financial reporting practices of central banks. The study focuses on the annual reports of 13 central banks from around the globe. It also contains an essay by IMF staff on the range of financial safeguards adopted by the various central banks.
The report is freely available [...]

Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific

Friday, October 30th, 2009

The International Monetary Fund has just published the October 2009 “Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific”. Although the region was hit extremely hard during the global crisis, it has rebounded fast. Asia’s growth is forecast to accelerate to 5.75% in 2010 from 2.75% in 2009, both higher than previously projected. Starting in February 2009, the [...]

Regional Economic Outlook: Latin America & Caribbean

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

The International Monetary Fund has launched its latest Regional Economic Outlook, entitled “Crisis Averted, Western Hemisphere Report”. The study explores the consequences and policy implications of the recent global crisis and recession for the Latin America & Caribbean (LAC region). Although the impact of the crisis was substantial, the worst is over for most countries. [...]

Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia

Friday, October 16th, 2009

The IMF has just published the “Middle East and Central Asia Regional Economic Outlook.” Given the region’s diversity, the report divides the countries analyzed into three sub-regions: (1) Oil exporters of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAP), (2) MENAP oil importers, and (3) the Caucasus and Central Asia.
While oil exporters are expected [...]

Regional Economic Outlook – Sub-Saharan Africa

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

The International Monetary Fund has just released the October 2009 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, Weathering the storm. After nearly a decade of strong economic performance, growth in the region is expected to slow to 1% in 2009. The current recession has slashed the exports of many SSA countries and disrupted capital flows. Oil exporters [...]