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Business and Economics > Public Finance

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 22 items for :

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Cover IMF Working Papers
Geoeconomic Fragmentation: What’s at Stake for the EU
Chikako Baba
,
Ting Lan
,
Ms. Aiko Mineshima
,
Florian Misch
,
Magali Pinat
,
Asghar Shahmoradi
,
Jiaxiong Yao
, and
Ms. Rachel van Elkan
Geoeconomic fragmentation (GEF) is becoming entrenched worldwide, and the European Union (EU) is not immune to its effects. This paper takes stock of GEF policies impinging on—and adopted by—the EU and considers how exposed the EU is through trade, financial and technological channels. Motivated by current policies adopted by other countries, the paper then simulates how various measures—raising costs of trade and technology transfer and fossil fuel prices, and imposition of sectoral subsidies—would affect the EU economy. Due to its high-degree of openness, the EU is found to be exposed to GEF through multiple channels, with simulated losses that differ significantly across scenarios. From a welfare perspective, this suggests the need for a cautious approach to GEF policies. The EU’s best defence against GEF is to strengthen the Single Market while advocating for a multilateral rules-based trading system.
Keywords:
Geoeconomic fragmentation; cross-border restrictions; trade; innovation; multinational production; energy; European Union; Single Market; EU economy; EU integration; EU foreign direct investment linkage; EU State aid; Manufacturing; Foreign direct investment; Fuel prices; Comparative advantage; Exports; Global
Cover Selected Issues Papers
Enhancing Business Investment in the United Kingdom
Agnese Carella
,
Ms. Ruo Chen
, and
Xiaobo Shao
The paper addresses the issue of weak business investment in the United Kingdom (UK) by analyzing aggregate investment trends in the UK and other G7 peers, and investment drivers for UK firms. Data show that business investment has been structurally low in the UK, and likely the key driver of the UK’s relatively weaker growth performance since the middle of the last decade. Econometric investigations confirm a negative impact of Brexit-related uncertainty, the importance of financing constraints on firms, and a complementary role for public capital.
Keywords:
Business investment; capital; growth; uncertainty; Brexit; investment driver; econometric investigation; importance of financing constraint; investment decision; macro investment model; Private investment; Public investment spending; COVID-19; Market capitalization; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
NAFTA to USMCA: What is Gained?
Mary E. Burfisher
,
Frederic Lambert
, and
Mr. Troy D Matheson
The United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA) was signed on November 30, 2018 and aims to replace and modernize the North-American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This paper uses a global, multisector, computable-general-equilibrium model to provide an analytical assessment of five key provisions in the new agreement, including tighter rules of origin in the automotive, textiles and apparel sectors, more liberalized agricultural trade, and other trade facilitation measures. The results show that together these provisions would adversely affect trade in the automotive, textiles and apparel sectors, while generating modest aggregate gains in terms of welfare, mostly driven by improved goods market access, with a negligible effect on real GDP. The welfare benefits from USMCA would be greatly enhanced with the elimination of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico and the elimination of the Canadian and Mexican import surtaxes imposed after the U.S. tariffs were put in place.
Keywords:
WP; USMCA; Canada; trade; Economic Integration; Trade Policy; NAFTA; apparel trade; aluminum tariff; USMCA trade benefit; USMCA scenario; U.S.-China trade tension; USMCA provision; vehicle trade; USMCA vehicle trade; USMCA country; USMCA textile; tariff preference levels; Tariffs; Imports; Surtax; Valuation; origin and classification; North American Free Trade Agreement; North America; Global; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
United Kingdom: 2018 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for United Kingdom
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
The United Kingdom is set to exit the European Union in March 2019. It is now in the process of negotiating its withdrawal from the EU. Once an agreement is reached, there will be an implementation period through the end of 2020. Complex issues still remain to be resolved, including the future status of the land border with Ireland. Growth over the past year has been moderate. The post-referendum depreciation caused an increase in inflation, depressing private consumption. Business investment growth has been constrained by protracted uncertainty about the future trade regime and potential increases in trading costs. Nonetheless, slack in the economy is limited as weaker demand is matched by slower supply growth. Growth is expected to continue at a moderate pace, conditional on a smooth Brexit transition and some recovery in labor productivity. A key downside risk is an exit
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; derivatives clearing service; IMF staff calculation; productivity challenge; Brexit negotiations; IMF staff estimate; EU exit; Brexit preparation work; Productivity; Income; Inflation; Global; IMF's transparency policy; eba stress test; Current account deficits
Cover Departmental Papers
Opening Up in the Caucasus and Central Asia: Policy Frameworks to Support Regional and Global Integration
Mr. Peter J Kunzel
,
Phil De Imus
,
Mr. Edward R Gemayel
,
Risto Herrala
,
Mr. Alexei P Kireyev
, and
Farid Talishli
The Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) countries are at an important juncture in their economic transition. Following significant economic progress during the 2000s, recent external shocks have revealed the underlying vulnerabilities of the current growth model. Lower commodity prices, weaker remittances, and slower growth in key trading partners reduced CCA growth, weakened external and fiscal balances, and raised public debt. the financial sector was also hit hard by large foreign exchange losses. while commodity prices have recovered somewhat since late 2014, to boost its economic potential, the region needs to find new growth drivers, diversify away from natural resources, remittances, and public spending, and generate much stronger private sector-led activity.
Keywords:
DPPP; DP; CCA country; capital account; CCA region; external shock; labor market; monetary policy; oil exporter; CCA commodity exporter; CCA oil importer; CCA banking sectors; CCA economy; Inflation targeting; Global; Central Asia and the Caucasus; Middle East; Central Asia
Cover IMF Working Papers
Peeling Away the Layers: Impacts of Durable Tariff Elimination
Arevik Gnutzmann-Mkrtchyan
and
Christian Henn
We demonstrate that durable MFN tariff elimination affects trade patterns through several layers, which generates non-linear impacts. First, complete tariff elimination results in a large additional trade gains over and above tariff reductions. Second, commitment to durable tariff elimination, through WTO bindings, further boosts both imports and exports of ITA members. The unique setting of the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) allows us to identify these effects of non-discriminatory trade policies because (i) ITA constitutes a quasi-natural experiment as several “passive” signatories joined it as an unavoidable part of pursuing of a larger policy objective, and (ii) ITA's partial coverage of the IT sector provides a natural control group for cross-product identification. Commitments under the ITA spurned development of a downstream IT export sector in “passive” signatories.
Keywords:
WP; commitment effect; ITA product export; ITA accession; ITA goods; Non-discriminatory Trade Policies; MFN Tariff Elimination; World Trade Organization; Information Technology Agreement; Trade Policy Certainty; Global Value Chains; Product-Level Data; tariff elimination; ITA products; tariff reduction; ITA export sector; ITA signatory; ITA exporter commitment effect; ITA membership; Tariffs; Exports; Imports; Trade policy; Information technology in revenue administration; Global
Cover Policy Papers
The Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda: A More Inclusive and Resilient Global Economy April 2017
International Monetary Fund
The global economy is gaining momentum, but further progress hinges on policies to support the recovery, lift productivity growth, and enhance resilience. Against the background of rapid technological progress, a cooperative multilateral framework for trade and financial integration has served countries well, producing large economic benefits. However, some groups have not been able to share in these benefits, a trend exposed by a too-slow post-crisis recovery, which limited the room for all segments of society to experience income gains. Working within the multilateral framework, countries should strive for strong and more balanced growth and to provide economic opportunities for all. To this end, they should anticipate the effects of technological progress and economic integration, equip their populations with tools to reap the benefits, and put in place domestic policies to share them more broadly. The Fund will assist members through carefully tailored policy advice, lending to smooth adjustment, and capacity development.
Keywords:
PP; Fund; lending toolkit; LIC debt sustainability framework; market; commodity exporter
Cover IMF Working Papers
Desynchronized: The Comovement of Non-Hydrocarbon Business Cycles in the GCC
Mr. Serhan Cevik
This paper investigates the empirical characteristics of business cycles and the extent of cyclical comovement in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, using various measures of synchronization for non-hydrocarbon GDP and constituents of aggregate demand during the period 1990-2010. By applying the Christiano-Fitzgerald asymmetric band-pass filter and a mean corrected concordance index, the paper identifies the degree of non-hydrocarbon business cycle synchronization?one of the main prerequisites for countries considering to establish a monetary union. The empirical results show low and heterogeneous synchronization in non-hydrocarbon business cycles across the GCC economies, and a decline in the degree of synchronicity in the 2000s, if Kuwait is excluded from the sample, partly because of divergent fiscal policies.
Keywords:
WP; GCC country; aggregate demand; Business cycles; business cycle synchronization; band-pass filter; concordance; GCC economy; Non-hydrocarbon business cycle frequency; business cycle analysis; pairwise correlation coefficients; business cycle desynchronization; Monetary unions; Private consumption; Government consumption; Public investment spending; Asia and Pacific; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Determinants of Inflation in GCC
Ms. Magda E. Kandil
and
Mrs. Hanan Morsy
Inflationary pressures have heightened in the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) since 2003. This paper studies determinants of inflation in GCC, using an empirical model that includes domestic and external factors. Inflation in major trading partners appears to be the most relevant foreign factor. In addition, oil revenues have reinforced inflationary pressures through growth of credit and aggregate spending. In the short-run, binding capacity constraints also explain higher inflation given increased government spending. Nonetheless, by targeting supply-side bottlenecks, the increase in government spending is easing capacity constraints and will ultimately help to moderate price inflation.
Keywords:
WP; price inflation; price; exchange rate; Inflation; external shocks; domestic policies; exchange rate pass-through; GCC country; exchange rate depreciation; inflation in trading partners; excess demand; determinants of inflation; inflation in GCC; Exchange rate adjustments; Exchange rates; Capacity utilization
Cover IMF Working Papers
The CFA Arrangements: More than Just An Aid Substitute?
Mr. Etienne B Yehoue
The CFA franc zone has had one of the longest experiences with a fixed exchange rate for a convertible currency and regional integration of any group of developing countries. France, the anchor country, provides aid to support the zone. This paper asks whether the arrangements are more than just an aid substitute. The paper addresses this issue by evaluating the overall performance of the zone over the period 1960-2004. The analysis reveals that when the zone is hit by a negative shock, France increases its aid, thereby acting as a shock absorber. However, it also finds that the zone displays strong performance in two areas-price stability and fiscal policy. Thus the paper concludes that the arrangements are not an aid substitute; they have real macroeconomic value for the zone and complement aid.
Keywords:
WP; single currency; France; country; CFA franc; Currency Unions; International Risk Sharing; Aid; Trade; inflation rate variability; anchor country; absorption role; zone countries' inflation rate variability; zone anchor country; CFA member country; CEMAC member country; anchor currency inflation rate; zone country; France's export; inflation country; CFA zone member country; Inflation; Monetary unions; Government asset and liability management; Exchange rate arrangements; Exports; Central Africa; West Africa