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Business and Economics > Banks and Banking

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 10 items for :

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Lithuania: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper investigates skills mismatch and active labor market policy in Lithuania. Wage flexibility is underpinned by one of the lowest densities of trade union and employer organization and the rare occurrence of collective bargaining. Thus, wage setting largely happens at the firm level. Real wages and productivity have been traditionally closely linked and temporary deviations have been self-correcting. In contrast, structural unemployment has been traditionally high, although it appears to be gradually falling. Large structural unemployment can have a significant long-term impact on potential growth and, therefore, on employment. Lithuania suffers from relative labor shortage for high-skilled workers and surplus of low- and medium-skilled workers. Thus, there are labor shortages in skill-intensive sectors. Lithuania has shown a sharp rise in skills mismatch for the country in the aftermath of the crisis. Vacancy rates and wage growth by sectors also suggest an excess supply of lower skilled workers and shortage of high-skilled ones.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Lithuania; interest rate gap; transmission mechanism; statistics Lithuania; wage growth; The Market; open economy; Labor markets; Active labor market policies; Output gap; Unemployment; Global; Europe; Eastern Europe; Western Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Structural Reform Priorities for Brazil
Nina Biljanovska
and
Mr. Damiano Sandri
Over the last few decades, Brazil has experienced relatively weak economic growth due to stagnant productivity. To boost productivity, Brazil should embark on an ambitious structural reform process. In doing so, it is crucial that authorities select a few reform priorities to avoid dispersing political capital on an overly broad reform agenda. The paper aims to identify Brazil’s reform priorities in two steps. First, it estimates the impact that different reforms have on Brazil’s productivity. Second, it analyzes survey data to assess the extent of public support for reforms. The results show that banking sector reforms would generate the largest productivity gains and have the highest level of public support. Moreover, they would also be relatively easy to legislate and generate significant fiscal savings.
Keywords:
WP; legal system; structural reform; economic growth; reform priority; Structural reforms; Brazil; political economy; banking sector reform; productivity gain; state intervention; monopoly power; Labor market reforms; Productivity; Commercial banks; Total factor productivity; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Portugal: Fourth Review Under the Extended Arrangement and Request for a Waiver of Applicability of End-June Performance Criteria: Staff Report; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Portugal.
International Monetary Fund
This paper discusses findings of the fourth review under an Extended Fund Facility Arrangement with Portugal. One year into the program, the authorities are making progress in reducing economic imbalances. The delicate balance between orderly deleveraging and improving competitiveness also remains in place. A turnaround in investor sentiment has nonetheless proved elusive, reflecting the formidable challenges that remain. Bank deposits remain stable and funding continues to be supported by euro system lending. Market sentiment has improved, although spreads remain high and volatile.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; EFF arrangement; control procedure; authority; bank; implementation; product market rigidity; Portugal's IMF quota; IMF assessment; Eurosystem financing; Credit; Loans; Fiscal stance; Global; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Italy: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund
This Selected Issues Paper focuses on structural reforms and fiscal devaluation in Italy. Italy’s economy has a number of important strengths. Despite these strengths, Italy’s economic performance has lagged behind its peers. The authorities’ reform plans are under way in different sectors of the country. In most cases, if reforms go in the right direction, their impact would depend on consistent and prompt implementation. The model-based analysis also suggests that the potential gains to the economy from deeper reforms can be sizable.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; bank; investor; tax; VAT; bank investor; investor base; public debt management strategy; labor market reform; VAT tax expenditure; Labor market reforms; Commodity markets; Wages; Labor markets; Global; competitiveness gap; market financing; Sovereign bonds
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Spain: 2010 Article IV Consultation: Staff Statement; Staff Supplement; Staff Report; Statement by the Executive Director for Spain; and Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion
International Monetary Fund
Spain’s economy is facing severe challenges. Financial market tensions increased sharply in the wake of the Greek crisis. Policy should focus on rebalancing of the economy and securing market confidence. Ambitious fiscal consolidation is under way, but achievement of the targets needs to be made more credible and complemented by bold pension reform. A radical overhaul of the labor market is urgent. Progress in recent years on product and service market reform should continue. The banking sector remains sound but is under pressure.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; decree; reform; savings bank; severance payment; saving bank; policy development; staff supplement; staff statement; capital participation; Labor markets; Employment; Commercial banks; Wages; Global
Cover Policy Papers
The G-20 Mutual Assessment Process and the Role of the Fund
International Monetary Fund
This paper summarizes the Fund staff’s understanding of the modalities that the G-20 members intend to follow in their mutual assessment process and what they have requested for this purpose from the Fund. It also discusses the legal and policy implications of the Fund’s involvement in this exercise, but without prejudging the broader discussion of the Fund’s mandate the Board will have in the coming months. As the G-20 process is still evolving, the precise nature of the Fund’s involvement, in particular its inputs, will become clearer over time. The Executive Board will be kept informed as the process develops.
Keywords:
PP; G20 industrial nations; staff; Fund staff; policy; country; G-20 Summit; country desk; growth objective; forward-looking assessment; country update; understanding of the modality; Labor market policy; Legal support in revenue administration; Budget planning and preparation; Asset bubbles; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Israel: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund
This Selected Issues paper examines Israel’s monetary policy regime with an eye toward developing some understanding of why breaches have been occurring and how to address them. The paper provides a brief history of Israel’s experience with inflation and inflation targeting. It examines several institutional aspects of inflation targeting and compares Israel with other emerging market regimes. Various procedural issues associated with implementing an inflation-targeting regime in Israel are examined. The paper also analyzes active labor market policies in Israel.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; OECD country; wage; inflation target; inflation-targeting regime; central bank credibility; monetary policy committee; Unemployment; Active labor market policies; Inflation targeting; Inflation; Unemployment rate; Africa; Asia and Pacific; North America
Cover Policy Papers
Lessons from the Real-Time Assessments of Structural Conditionality
International Monetary Fund
NULL
Keywords:
PP; country; fund; Bolivia; Mauritania; country case; PRGF country; core area; country circumstances; labor market; country ownership; macroeconomic problem; Privatization; Public enterprises; Energy sector; Labor market reforms; Civil service reform
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Spain: Staff Report for the 2001 Article IV Consultation
International Monetary Fund
This 2001 Article IV Consultation highlights that the economy of Spain grew by more than 4 percent annually during 1997–2000—reflecting strong consumption, competitive exports, wage moderation, and supply conditions enhanced by structural reforms. Annualized real GDP growth was about 2 percent in the third quarter of 2001, compared with 2.5 percent and 3 percent, respectively, in the second and first quarters. Industrial production has been decreasing during most of 2001, and in November stood about 1 percent lower than a year before.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; November data; government; General government debt; November; debt; December data; exchange rate; job creation; indexation clause; framework wage agreement; Employment; Labor markets; Wages; Labor market reforms; Global; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Kuwait: Staff Report for the 2001 Article IV Consultation
International Monetary Fund
Improved terms of trade and sound macroeconomic policies have helped strengthen Kuwait's financial situation. The government should move forcefully to implement its structural reform program. Monetary policy is rightly focused on maintaining the credibility of the pegged exchange rate arrangement and achieving price stability. The pegged exchange arrangement, open capital account, and prudent fiscal and monetary policies have served Kuwait well, keeping inflation low and reinforcing confidence in the economy. The government has been commended for maintaining a generous foreign assistance program.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; fiscal policy; central bank; prudent fiscal policy; net profit; price; financial situation; IMF staff estimate; price data; achieving price stability; Stock markets; Foreign assets