Middle East and Central Asia > Kyrgyz Republic
Abstract
Macroeconomic outcomes in low-income countries (LICs) have improved markedly in recent years, but important questions remain regarding possible adjustments in the design of IMF-supported programs in such countries. This paper draws on a review of the literature as well as the experience of 15 LICs that have attained some degree of macroeconomic stability to discuss, for example, the appropriate target range for inflation in shock-prone LICs; whether countries should use fiscal space to cut excessive tax burdens, reduce high debt levels, or raise public spending; and how the effectiveness of public expenditures can be improved.
Abstract
The most salient trend in monetary policy over the past two decades has been increasing reliance on money market operations, which reflects the belief that allowing market forces to allocate financial resources brings about increased economic efficiency and growth. However, small economies and countries with undeveloped financial markets have found that a lack of competition in their financial markets complicates their efforts to rely on money market operations, at times forcing them to rely instead on direct instruments or moral suasion. In some larger countries, the shift toward a reliance on money market operations has been gradual and, at times, fraught with difficulty. This report draws on a variety of country experiences to analyze the reasons for such difficulties and proposes a stylized sequencing of reforms that enables countries to tailor the introduction of money market operations to their particular circumstances.
Abstract
This paper reviews lessons learned for future technical assistance work in the hope that they will highlight the problems faced when introducing institutional changes in transitional economies. The findings from the assessment are intended principally for those interested in the development of these transition economies, but should also be of wider relevance to those involved in delivering technical assistance on public sector institutional reform. The assessment follows the standard approach to such evaluation work. It first considers whether the basic goal of setting up treasuries has been achieved and whether the resultant reforms are relevant and sustainable. A more marked improvement in public expenditure and fiscal management was, however, also seriously hindered by the hostile macroeconomic environment of perennial crisis. The IMF is now preparing an illustrative standard for budget preparation, based on the Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency, for the countries discussed in this paper.
Abstract
This study, another in the series focusing on special issues in transition, reviews the experience of output decline and recovery in the 25 countries of eastern and central Europe and the Baltics, Russia, and other countries of the former Soviet Union. Although these countries began the process of economic transformation with similar circumstances of output decline, the extent of decline, its duration, and the sustainability of recovery in growth varied considerably. The authors explore the factors behind this variation and find that the most important policies promoting early and sustained recovery were ones that supported financial stabilization and structural reforms in key areas such as private sector development, the tax system, economic liberalization, and secure property rights.
Abstract
Large current account imbalances have been recorded in the Baltics, Russia, and other countries of the former Soviet Union since their independence. Are these current account positions sustainable, reflecting the special circumstances of transition, or are the positions untenable over the longer term? This study attempts to address this important question by first describing recent current account developments in these transition economies. It subsequently focuses on a wide range of external sustainability indicators by drawing on the existing literature, and attempts to assess their potential usefulness in a transiton country context. The indicators examined include real exchange rates, fiscal revenues and expenditures, savings and investment developments, openness measures, growth projections, external debt composition, foreign exchange reserve cover, and various financial sector measures.
Abstract
As part of its mandate, the IMF seeks to create the conditions necessary for sustained high-quality growth, which encompasses a broad range of elements. These include sound macroeconomic policies, growth-enhancing structural reforms, good governance, and such social policies as cost-effective social safety nets and targeted social expenditures. This paper reviews the IMF's policy advice in two key areas of social policy: social safety nets and public spending on education and health care. It was initiated as part of the work by the World Bank and IMF to strengthen the poverty focus of adjustment programs in low-income countries, in particular within the framework of the Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs).
Abstract
This occasional paper provides an overview of the economic reform experiences of the Central Asian states of the former Soviet Union since their independence at the turn of the decade. The choice of countries reflects not only a geographical grouping, but also similarities in the types of transition challenges faced by these countries notwithstanding considerable variations in their sizes, ethnic composition, resource endowments, and economic structures. The paper attempts to identify a number of key macroeconomic and structural areas where the slower reformers in the group might benefit from the experience of the faster reformes.
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the recent revenue performance in the Baltics, Russia, and other countries of the former Soviet Union, and a survey of these countries efforts to modify tax policy in line with the needs of increasingly market-oriented economies and to increase the effectiveness of tax administration. It focuses principally on the 12 countries of the CIS, but refers also to the Baltic countries, and addresses the period from 1995 to mid-1998, prior to the August 1998 financial crisis in Russia.
Abstract
The latest in a series of papers published by the International Monetary Fund on economies in transition examines the experience of disinflation in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics, Russia, and other countries of the former Soviet Union between 1993 and 1997. The paper reviews the economic policies underlying the dramatic drop in inflation during those years as well as other variables that facilitated the disinflation and notes that the adjustment of fiscal fundamentals as the driving force behind the disinflation, while nominal anchoring arrangements played a less prominent role. This was contrary to developments in countries, for example, in Latin America, that had experienced high inflation for a long period of time.
Abstract
This paper discusses the significant overall progress with macro stabilization of these transition countries during 1992-1997. While average inflation declined steadily since 1992, output fell significantly for many of these countries during this period, and it was not unti 1996-97 that as a group they experienced positive growth, financial policies, the current account, competitiveness, debt-and non-debt-creating capital flows, and the initial impact of the Asian crisis.