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This paper presents a Management Implementation Plan (MIP) with actions to take forward the Board-endorsed recommendations from the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO)’s report on IMF Engagement with Small Developing States (SDS). The actions in the MIP are broad in scope, touching on all modalities of the Fund’s engagement with SDS, and seek to be comprehensive, self-reinforcing, cost-effective, and designed to be adopted as a package. The MIP aims to support a targeted and effective recalibration of engagement with SDS; enhance IMF’s surveillance and capacity development in SDS members; strengthen the Fund’s lending engagement with SDS, in line with the applicable policy frameworks; and secure an effective, well-tailored and more continuous staff presence in SDS.
1. The Fund has provided significant support to Panama following the outbreak of the pandemic. Panama benefitted from financial support under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), a two-year PLL arrangement, and a SDR allocation. All in all, the Fund has provided support to Panama for over 61/4 percent of GDP since the beginning of the pandemic.
The surge in energy and food prices, which was amplified by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has prompted a flurry of policy responses by countries during 2022. The aim of these policy responses was to mitigate social and economic impact of higher prices. In this paper we document announcements of policy measures based on the Database of Energy and Food Price Actions (DEFPA), which was developed based on two rounds of survey responses of IMF country teams conducted in March/April and June/July of 2022. The paper also provides discussion on policy trade-offs when considering appropriate policy responses both for countries with strong and weak social safety nets. Key policy message is that providing targeted support to households in the form of cash transfers is the most cost-effective way of alleviating the burden on vulnerable households and have to be preferred over broad-based mechanisms that prevent international prices to pass through to domestic consumers.
1. A new administration has been elected with a mandate to improve equity and diversify Colombia’s economy. On the back of strong social demands, President Petro took office in August 2022, marking a shift in domestic politics. The new administration’s agenda is centered on reducing inequality and transitioning towards a greener and more diversified economy. Despite a strong track record of macroeconomic stability and economic growth, income inequality and labor market informality remain elevated, and gaps persist in the access to healthcare, education, and social safety net coverage. Meanwhile, the economy’s dependency on oil and gas has grown over the past decade—representing 56 percent of total exports and the bulk of energy produced for domestic consumption (see accompanying Selected Issues Paper, SIP).
Following a series of supply-side shocks, unprecedented policy stimulus, and a sharp recovery in economic activity after the pandemic, inflation rose above central bank targets in many economies around the globe, including Colombia. Amid a more challenging external backdrop and increasing monetary policy tradeoffs, this note explores the role that fiscal policy can play to support monetary policy in addressing inflationary pressures without unduly dampening growth. The empirical analysis and calibrated model suggest that fiscal policy can play a critical in role in tackling inflation, with important welfare enhancing implications.