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Western Hemisphere > Belize

You are looking at 1 - 4 of 4 items for :

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  • Business Fluctuations; Cycles x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
Back to the Future: Fiscal Rules for Regaining Sustainability
Mr. Serhan Cevik
This paper assesses the cyclicality and sustainability of fiscal policy in Belize and applies a stochastic simulation model to determine the optimal set of fiscal rules. The empirical analysis shows that fiscal policy in Belize has been significantly procyclical and unsustainable much of the period since 1976. While the government’s recent commitment to maintain a primary surplus of at least 2 percent of GDP until 2021 is supporting debt reduction, stochastic simulations indicate that further improvement in the primary balance is necessary to reliably bring the debt-to-GDP ratio to a sustainable path. Given Belize’s history of large economic shocks, this paper proposes explicit fiscal rules designed for countercyclical policy and debt sustainability. It recommends integrating such rules into a well-designed fiscal responsibility law and establishing an independent fiscal council to improve accountability and transparency.
Keywords:
WP; government; debt ratio; budget constraint; cyclically-adjusted government expenditure; Fiscal policy; sustainability; procyclicality; debt; fiscal rules; debt accumulation equation; government's fiscal policy; fiscal policy cyclicality; Fiscal stance; Caribbean
Cover IMF Working Papers
Problem Loans in the Caribbean: Determinants, Impact and Strategies for Resolution
Ms. Kimberly Beaton
,
Mr. Thomas Dowling
,
Dmitriy Kovtun
,
Franz Loyola
,
Ms. Alla Myrvoda
,
Mr. Joel Chiedu Okwuokei
,
Ms. Inci Ötker
, and
Mr. Jarkko Turunen
The high level of nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the Caribbean has been, in large part, a legacy of the global financial crisis, but their persistence owes much to the weak economic recovery in the region, as well as to structural obstacles to their resolution. A comprehensive strategy is needed to address these impediments to sever the adverse feedback loops between weak economic activity and weak asset quality. This paper finds that NPLs are a drag on Caribbean growth and macro-financial links are strong: a deterioration in asset quality hinders bank lending and dampens economic activity, undermining, in turn, efforts to resolve problem loans. A multifaceted approach is needed, involving a combination of macro- economic policies to support growth and employment; strong supervisory frameworks to ensure macro-financial stability and create incentives for resolution; efforts to address informational gaps and deficiencies in insolvency and debt-enforcement frameworks; and development of markets for distressed loans. The institutional capacity constraints require coordination of reforms within the region and support from international organizations through capacity-building.
Keywords:
WP; NPL ratio; asset quality; NPL resolution; economic activity; Macro-financial linkages; nonperforming loans; resolution; the Caribbean; affect bank lending; Loans; Distressed assets; Credit; Collateral; Caribbean; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Does Demand Volatility Lower Growth and Raise Inflation? Evidence from the Caribbean
Ms. Magda E. Kandil
The paper investigates asymmetry in the allocation of aggregate demand shocks between real output growth and price inflation over the business cycle in a sample of fifteen Caribbean countries. In most countries, the evidence indicates the existence of structural constraints, implying that positive demand shocks feed predominantly into prices while negative demand shocks mainly affect output. The high variability of aggregate demand in Caribbean countries, frequently exposed to shocks that are exacerbated by pro-cyclical policy stance, tends to create an upward bias on inflation and a downward bias on real output growth, on average, over time. The analysis highlights the benefits of eliminating structural rigidities responsible for asymmetric real and inflationary effects and points to the dangers of procyclical macroeconomic policies that exacerbate the adverse effects of demand variability.
Keywords:
WP; price inflation; demand variability; output growth; trend inflation; energy price; price rigidity; trade balance; Demand Shocks Asymmetric Effects Contractionary and Inflationary Biases; price uncertainty; price flexibility; output contraction; price inflation to expansionary demand shocks; product price; real growth; inflation bias; expansionary demand shock; inflation to expansionary demand shocks; Inflation; Exchange rates; Production growth; Sticky prices; Exchange rate arrangements; Caribbean
Cover Summary Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors, 1982
Summary Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors, 1982
International Monetary Fund. Secretary's Department

Abstract

The speeches made by officials attending the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings are published in this volume, along with the press communiqués issued by the International Monetary and Financial Committee and the Development Committee at the conclusion of the meetings.

Keywords:
AS; sc; fund documents no; IBRD election; IMF election; oil developing countries; boards of governors of the fund; Inflation; International monetary system; Multilateral development institutions; Adjustment process; Unemployment; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa; Caribbean; Central America; Africa; audit report; Economic recession