International Monetary Fund imprint: 1365 books

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is making significant strides on both the political and economic fronts to extricate itself from one of the bloodiest wars in African history. This remarkable turnaround offers other countries and the international community valuable lessons in preventing conflict...

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa has recently shown signs of improvement, but is still short of levels needed to attain the Millennium Development Goals. Economists have placed increasing emphasis on understanding the policies that promote sustained jumps in medium-term growth, and the paper applies this...

In a global economy beset by concerns over a growth recession, financial volatility, and rising inflation, countries in the Western Hemisphere have been among the few bright spots in recent years. This has not come as a surprise to those following the significant progress achieved by many countries...

Financial globalization has increased dramatically over the past three decades, particularly for advanced economies, while emerging market and developing countries experienced more moderate increases. Divergences across countries stem from different capital control regimes, and factors such as institutional...

Edited by David T. Coe and Se-Jik Kim, this volume contains papers presented at a May 2001 conference in Seoul sponsored by the IMF and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy on the Korean Crisis and Recovery. The papers examine the response to the 1997 crisis, its long-term impact on...

Sponsored by the IMF's Statistics Department and edited by Vicente Galbis, this volume contributes to the international discussion that resulted in the UN's "A System of National Accounts, 1993." Experts from the IMF, UN, OECD, EC, and statistical institutions examine issues pertaining to external sector transactions, public sector accounts, and financial flows and balances.

The IMF, with the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board, has been at the forefront of discussions on reform of the global financial system to reduce the possibility of future crises, as well as to limit the consequences if they do occur. The policy choices are both urgent...

In the years following the global financial crisis, many low-income countries experienced rapid recovery and strong economic growth. However, many are now facing enormous difficulties because of rapidly rising food and fuel prices, with the threat of millions of people being pushed into poverty around...

The IMF's internal analysis of exchange rate issues has been guided by, and limited by, the conceptual and empirical frameworks that have emerged from the collective research of the economics profession. The research has provided several general approaches that are useful for assessing whether countries'...

Saudi Arabia: Tackling Emerging Economic Challenges to Sustain Strong Growth

Oil and gas production in Azerbaijan were projected to increase sharply in 2005 and 2006, respectively, reaching peaks of 1.3 million barrels a day in 2009 and 20 billion cubic meters a year in 2010. Although expected revenues over the next 20 years will be substantial, they are projected to return to...

The changing political landscape in the Arab world has created opportunities for economic transformation by tackling long-standing economic issues. Nevertheless, three years after the onset of political transition, implementing necessary economic policies has proven to be challenging. This paper lays out key elements of economic policy reform for Arab countries in transition.

Pan-African banks are expanding rapidly across the continent, creating cross-border networks, and having a systemic presence in the banking sectors of many Sub-Saharan African countries. These banking groups are fostering financial development and economic integration, stimulating competition and...

Dollarization—the use of foreign currencies as a medium of exchange, store of value, or unit of account—is a notable feature of financial development under macroeconomically fragile conditions. It has emerged as a key factor explaining vulnerabilities and currency crises, which have long been observed...