Country Groups and Country and Region Abbreviations

Country Groups

Country Groups

CAPDR	Caribbean Commodity Exporters	Caribbean Tourism-Dependent	Central America	Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU)	LA7	LA6	South America
Costa Rica	Belize	Antigua and Barbuda	Belize	Anguilla	Argentina	Brazil	Argentina
Dominican Republic	Guyana		Costa Rica	Antigua and Barbuda	Brazil	Chile	Bolivia
	Suriname	The Bahamas	El Salvador		Chile	Colombia	Brazil
El Salvador	Trinidad and Tobago	Barbados	Guatemala	Dominica	Colombia	Mexico	Chile
Guatemala		Dominica	Honduras	Grenada	Mexico	Peru	Colombia
Honduras		Grenada	Nicaragua	Montserrat	Peru	Uruguay	Ecuador
Nicaragua		Jamaica	Panama	St. Kitts and Nevis	Uruguay		Guyana
Panama		St. Kitts and Nevis					Paraguay
				St. Lucia			Peru
		St. Lucia		St. Vincent and the Grenadines			Suriname
		St. Vincent and the Grenadines					Uruguay
							Venezuela

View Table

Country Groups

CAPDR	Caribbean Commodity Exporters	Caribbean Tourism-Dependent	Central America	Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU)	LA7	LA6	South America
Costa Rica	Belize	Antigua and Barbuda	Belize	Anguilla	Argentina	Brazil	Argentina
Dominican Republic	Guyana		Costa Rica	Antigua and Barbuda	Brazil	Chile	Bolivia
	Suriname	The Bahamas	El Salvador		Chile	Colombia	Brazil
El Salvador	Trinidad and Tobago	Barbados	Guatemala	Dominica	Colombia	Mexico	Chile
Guatemala		Dominica	Honduras	Grenada	Mexico	Peru	Colombia
Honduras		Grenada	Nicaragua	Montserrat	Peru	Uruguay	Ecuador
Nicaragua		Jamaica	Panama	St. Kitts and Nevis	Uruguay		Guyana
Panama		St. Kitts and Nevis					Paraguay
				St. Lucia			Peru
		St. Lucia		St. Vincent and the Grenadines			Suriname
		St. Vincent and the Grenadines					Uruguay
							Venezuela

New Publications from the Western Hemisphere Department, April 2016–March 2017

IMF Cluster Reports

IMF Country Report No. 17/66

Cluster Report–Trade Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Valerie Cerra; Kimberly Beaton; Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov; Rosalind Mowatt

IMF Working Papers

WP/16/80

Understanding Corporate Vulnerabilities in Latin America

Carlos Caceres; Fabiano Rodrigues Bastos

WP/16/82

Structural Reform and Growth: What Really Matters? Evidence from the Caribbean

Kevin Greenidge; Meredith Arnold McIntyre; Hanlei Yun

WP/16/85

Power It Up: Strengthening the Electricity Sector to Improve Efficiency and Support Economic Activity

Gabriel Di Bella; Francesco Grigoli

WP/16/101

Estimating the Effects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

Diego A. Cerdeiro

WP/16/108

Global Financial Conditions and Monetary Policy Autonomy

Carlos Caceres; Yan Carriere- Swallow; Bertrand Gruss

WP/16/121

Income Polarization in the United States

Ali Alichi; Kory Kantenga; Juan Solé

WP/16/122

What’s Up with U.S. Wage Growth and Job Mobility?

Stephan Danninger

WP/16/124

What is Keeping U.S. Core Inflation Low: Insights from a Bottom-Up Approach

Yasser Abdih; Ravi Balakrishnan; Baoping Shang

WP/16/125

U.S. Dollar Dynamics: How Important Are Policy Divergence and FX Risk Premiums?

Ravi Balakrishnan, Stefan Laseen, and Andrea Pescatori

WP/16/129

Outside the Band: Depreciation and Inflation Dynamics in Chile

Esther Pérez Ruiz

WP/16/159

Inflation and the Black Market Exchange Rate in a Repressed Market: A Model of Venezuela

Valerie Cerra

WP/16/160

Testing Piketty’s Hypothesis on the Drivers of Income Inequality: Evidence from Panel VARs with Heterogeneous Dynamics

Carlos Góes

WP/16/185

Highways to Heaven: Infrastructure Determinants and Trends in Latin America and the Caribbean

Valerie Cerra; Alfredo Cuevas; Carlos Goes; Izabela Karpowicz; Troy Matheson; Issouf Samake; Svetlana Vtyurina

WP/16/192

How to Improve Inflation Targeting in Canada

Maurice Obstfeld; Kevin Clinton; Ondra Kamenik; Douglas Laxton; Yulia Ustyugova; Hou Wang

WP/16/195

U.S. Monetary Policy Normalization and Global Interest Rates

Carlos Caceres; Yan Carriere- Swallow; Ishak Demir; Bertrand Gruss

WP/16/197

Central Banking in Latin America: The Way Forward

Yan Carriere-Swallow; Luis I. Jacome H.; Nicolas E. Magud; Alejandro M. Werner

WP/16/199

Gone with the Wind: Estimating Hurricane and Climate Change Costs in the Caribbean

Sebastian Acevedo Mejia

WP/16/200

Assessing Liquidity Buffers in the Panamanian Banking Sectors

Andras Komaromi; Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov; Torsten Wezel

WP/16/201

Estimating Potential Output in Chile: A Multivariate Filter for Mining and Non-Mining Sectors

Patrick Blagrave; Marika Santoro

WP/16/206

National Insurance Scheme Reforms in the Caribbean

Koffie Nassar; Joel Okwuokei; Mike Li; Timothy Robinson; Saji Thomas

WP/16/208

Dominican Republic: Sectoral Financial Positions and Macroeconomic Vulnerabilities

Svetlana Cerovic; Jose Saboin

WP/16/218

To Bet or Not to Bet: Copper Price Uncertainty and Investment in Chile

Fabio Comelli; Esther Pérez Ruiz

WP/16/226

A Balancing Act: Reform Options for Paraguay’s Fiscal Responsibility Law

Antonio David; Natalija Novta

WP/16/229

Non-Performing Loans in the ECCU: Determinants and Macroeconomic Impact

Kimberly Beaton; Alla Myrvoda; Shernnel Thompson

WP/16/236

Macro-Financial Linkages and Heterogeneous Non-Performing Loans Projections: An Application to Ecuador

Francesco Grigoli; Mario Mansilla; Martín Saldías

WP/16/240

Monetary Policy Credibility and Exchange Rate Pass-Through

Bertrand Gruss; Fabian Valencia; Nicolas E Magud; Yan Carriere-Swallow

WP/16/244

Inequality and Growth: A Heterogeneous Approach

Evelio Paredes; Francesco Grigoli; Gabriel Di Bella

WP/16/246

Does Gross or Net Debt Matter More for Emerging Market Spreads?

Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov; Luca Antonio Ricci

WP/16/250

Potential Output Growth Estimates for Central America and the Dominican Republic

Roberto Garcia-Saltos; Iulia Ruxandra Teodoru; Fan Zhang

WP/17/1

Benefits of Global and Regional Financial Integration in Latin America

Bennett W Sutton; Diva Singh; Luc Eyraud

WP/17/9

Financial Deepening in Mexico

Alexander Herman; Alexander D. Klemm

WP/17/27

The Impact of Natural Resource Discoveries in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Closer Look at the Case of Bolivia

Frederik G Toscani

WP/17/29

Terms-of-Trade Cycles and External Adjustment

Alejandro M. Werner; Gustavo Adler; Nicolas E. Magud

WP/17/34

Women at Work in Latin America and the Caribbean

Joyce Wong; Natalija Novta

WP/17/35

The Growth Return of Infrastructure in Latin America

Sergi Lanau

WP/17/42

Composition of Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean

Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov; Xiaodan Ding

WP/17/46

Revisiting the Link between Trade, Growth and Inequality: Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean

Aliona Cebotari; Andras Komaromi; Kimberly Beaton

WP/17/47

Trade Liberalization in Peru: Adjustment Costs Amidst High Labor Mobility

Elin Baldárrago; Gonzalo Salinas

WP/17/50

Spillovers from U.S. Monetary Policy Normalization on Brazil and Mexico’s Sovereign Bond Yields

Carlos Góes; Herman Kamil; Jeremy Zook; Mercedes Garcia-Escribano; Phil De Imus; Roberto Perrelli;

Shaun K. Roache

WP/17/53

Pension Reform Options in Chile: Some Tradeoffs

Marika Santoro

WP/17/54

Labor Force Participation in Chile: Recent Trends, Drivers, and Prospects

Patrick Blagrave; Marika Santoro

Selected Issues Papers

Argentina

How Large Is Argentina’s Capital Accumulation Gap and How Can It Be Reduced? Lessons from Past Investment Surges

Jorge Iván Canales-Kriljenko

Argentina’s Fiscal Adjustment: How Can It Be Done?

Diva Singh; Paolo Dudine

Argentina’s Pension and Social Security System: A Sustainability Analysis

Paolo Dudine

Disinflation Under Inflation Targeting: A Small Macro Model for Argentina

Jorge Ivan Canales-Kriljenko

Enhancing The Effectiveness of Inflation Targeting in Argentina

Luis Jacome

Argentina’s Exports and Competitiveness: A Sectoral View On Trends and Prospects

Lusine Lusinyan; Mariano Ortiz Villafañe

Medium-Term Prospects for Argentina’s External Balance Sheet

Alex Pienkowski; Jose Luis Saboin

Barbados

Data Issues and Post-Crisis Growth in Barbados

Thomas Dowling; Judith Gold

Understanding Tourism Flows in Barbados

Nkunde Mwase; Judith Gold

Belize

Toward A Better Understanding of Macro-Financial Linkages

Jacques Bouhga-Hagbe; Dmitriy Kovtun; Joel Okwuokei; Kalin Tintchev; Chady El Khoury; Gomiluk Otokwala; Annamaria Kokenyne-Ivanics; Aditya Gaiha

Brazil

Financial and Business Cycles in Brazil

Ivo Krznar; Troy Matheson

Consumption in Brazil: Where to Next?

Troy Matheson; Carlos Góes

Fiscal Challenges of an Aging Population in Brazil

Izabela Karpowicz; Carlos Mulas-Granados

Stretching the Limits: The Evolution of Subnational Public Finances in Brazil

Izabela Karpowicz; Carlos Mulas-Granados

Effectiveness of Intervention in Brazil

Christian Saborowski

Upgrading Brazil’s Inflation Targeting Framework

Silvia Domit

Assessing Banking Sector Health in the Economic Downturn

Ivo Krznar

Costa Rica

Macro-Financial Linkages

Valentina Flamini

Financial Sector Vulnerabilities

Valentina Flamini

Monetary Policy Stance

Valentina Flamini; Rodrigo Mariscal Paredes

Financial Deepening in Costa Rica

Anna Ivanova; Rodrigo Mariscal; Joyce Wong

Financial Inclusion in Costa Rica

Anna Ivanova; Yixi Deng; Joyce Wong

Recent Fiscal Developments and Medium-Term Sustainability

Jaume Puig-Forné

Balance Sheet Analysis

Jaume Puig-Forné

Selected Real Sector Issues

Lennart Erickson; Iulia Teodoru; Dmitry Plotnikov

Female Labor Force Participation in Costa Rica

Anna Ivanova; Ryo Makioka; Joyce Wong

Colombia

Monetary and Financial Conditions in Colombia

Francisco Roch

Colombian Corporate Vulnerabilities and Macrofinancial Implications

Mohamed Afzal Norat; David Jutrsa

Inflation Dynamics in Colombia

Sergi Lanau; Christina Kolerus

Dominica

A Savings Fund for Natural Disasters: An Application to Dominica

Alejandro Guerson

Credit Unions in Dominica: Financial Importance and Policy Challenges

Saji Thomas

Economic Impact of Tropical Storms

Wayne Mitchell; Ke Wang

El Salvador

Puzzling Out the Salvadorian Growth, Migration, and Remittance Nexus

Bogdan Lissovolik

El Salvador: Potential Growth

Iulia Teodoru

A Fiscal Responsibility Law and Fiscal Rule for El Salvador: A Cross-Country View

Bogdan Lissovolik

The Salvadorian Pension System: In Search of Sustainability

Bogdan Lissovolik

Financial Developments in El Salvador: Deepening & Inclusion and Crowding Out

Lukas Kohler; Joyce Wong; Diana Mikhail; Yixi Deng

Guatemala

Guatemala Real Sector Issues

Iulia Ruxandra Teodoru

Fiscal Policy: Sustainability and Social Objectives

Carlos Janada

Monetary Policy Management

Iulia Ruxandra Teodoru; Rodrigo Mariscal Paredes

Macro Financial Linkage: Assessing Financial Risks

Iulia Ruxandra Teodoru

Macro Financial Linkage: Financial Development and Inclusion

Anna Ivanova; Victoria Valente

Honduras

Benchmarking Social Spending Using Efficiency Frontiers

Javier Kapsoli

Corruption, Violence, and Economic Growth

Dmitry Plotnikov

Macroeconomic Impact of Lower Oil Prices in Honduras

Diego Cerdeiro; Dmitry Plotnikov

Banking Sector Stability in Honduras

Garth P. Nicholls

A Balance Sheet Approach to Macroeconomic Vulnerabilities

Garth P. Nicholls; Giovanni Ugazio

Mexico

The Transmission of Monetary Policy Rates to Lending and Deposit Rates

Alexander Klemm

Global Conditions and Capital Flows to Emerging Markets: How Sensitive Is Mexico?

Damien Puy

Welfare Gains from Hedging Oil-Price Risk

Chang Ma; Fabian Valencia

Evaluating the Stance of Monetary Policy

Alexander Klemm; Damien Puy

Paraguay

A Balancing Act: Reform Options for Paraguay’s Fiscal Responsibility Law

Antonio C. David; Natalija Novta

Paraguay’s Credit Growth and Banking System Vulnerabilities—An Assessment

Geoffrey Keim; Marika Santoro

Panama

Assessing the Effectiveness of Panama’s Fiscal Framework

Fang Yang

Assessing Liquidity Buffers in the Panamanian Banking Sector

Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov; Andras Komaromi; Torsten Wezel

Economic Effects of Panama’s Offshore Banking Sector

Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov

Inclusive Growth in Panama

Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov

Spillovers from the Panama Canal Expansion

Ana Ahijado; Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov; Andras Komaromi; Diego Cerdeiro

Peru

The Adjustment to Commodity Price Shocks in Chile, Colombia and Peru

Francisco Roch

Fiscal Multipliers and Institutions in Peru: Getting the Largest Bang for the Sol

Svetlana Vtyurina; Zulima Leal

The Missing Link? Exchange Rate Volatility and De-Dollarization in Peru

Greetje Everaert

Selected Issues in International Taxation

Roberto Schatan

Trinidad and Tobago

Fuel Subsidies in Trinidad and Tobago: Fiscal, Distributional, and Environmental Impacts

Xin Li; Elie Canetti

Uruguay

Balance Sheet Analysis in Uruguay––High Dollarization but Limited Risks

Frederik Toscani

Stress-Testing the Banking Sector

Frederic Lambert

Uruguay’s Neutral Interest Rate

Frederic Lambert

Increased Social Inclusion––The Role of Government Policies

Bengt Petersson

The Challenges of Population Aging for Pensions in Uruguay

Frederic Lambert