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Europe > Latvia, Republic of

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 23 items for :

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Cover IMF Working Papers
Dismal Employment Growth in EU Countries: The Role of Corporate Balance Sheet Repair and Dual Labor Markets
Mr. Bas B. Bakker
and
Mr. Li Zeng
This paper argues that the large differences among EU countries in post-crisis employment performance are to a large extent driven by the need to adjust corporate balance sheets, which had greatly deteriorated during the boom years in some countries but not in others. To close the large gaps between saving and investment, firms reduced investment and cut costs to boost profits. With much of the cost adjustment falling on firms’ wage bills, employment losses were largest in countries under the most intense pressures to improve corporate profitability and with limited wage flexibility due to labor market duality.
Keywords:
WP; profit; profit share; share; labor market; Employment; saving; debt; firms; employment growth; increase variation; labor market duality; share change; Labor markets; Corporate sector; Wages; Baltics; Global; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Latvia: Fourth Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement and Financing Assurances Review, Request for Rephasing of Purchases Under the Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Nonobservance of a Performance Criterion
International Monetary Fund
Strong policy implementation under the Stand By-Arrangement (SBA) has contributed to Latvia’s economic recovery and put attainment of Maastricht criteria for euro adoption within reach. The government has continued to achieve substantial fiscal savings and strengthened its active labor market policy. Executive Directors stressed the need to implement plans for reforming state-owned banks and to promote market-based debt restructuring. Directors advised to maintain strong budget implementation in 2011 and focus on reducing taxes in the 2012 budget. They encouraged to enhance efficiency of state-owned enterprises to keep inflation under control.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; request for waiver of nonobservance; request; request for Rephasing; waiver; state; IMF's support; request for Rephasing of purchase; authorities' strategy; Inflation; PFM legal and regulatory frameworks; Budget planning and preparation; Global; Baltics; Europe
Cover Staff Discussion Notes
A Fiscal Indicator for Assessing First and Second Pillar Pension Reforms
Mauricio Soto
,
Frank Eich
, and
Mr. Benedict J. Clements
Staff Discussion Notes showcase the latest policy-related analysis and research being developed by individual IMF staff and are published to elicit comment and to further debate. These papers are generally brief and written in nontechnical language, and so are aimed at a broad audience interested in economic policy issues. This Web-only series replaced Staff Position Notes in January 2011.
Keywords:
SDN; budget balance; Fiscal policy; explicit and implicit government debt; pension obligations and reforms; population aging; pension balance; group liability; pension-adjusted balance; current-period balance; Pension spending; Budget planning and preparation; Pension reform; Fiscal stance; Fiscal sustainability; Central and Eastern Europe; Eastern Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
A New Index of Currency Mismatch and Systemic Risk
Mr. Romain Ranciere
,
Aaron Tornell
, and
Mr. Athanasios Vamvakidis
This paper constructs a new measure of currency mismatch in the banking sector that controls for bank lending to unhedged borrowers. This measure explicitly takes into account the indirect exchange rate risk that banks undertake when they lend to borrowers that will not be able to repay in the event of a sharp depreciation. Such systemic risk taking is not captured by indicators that are based only on banks’ balance sheet data. The new measure is constructed for 10 emerging European economies and for a broader sample that includes 19 additional emerging economies, for the period 1998 - 2008. Comparisons with previous currency mismatch measures that do not adjust for unhedged foreign currency borrowing illustrate the advantages of the new approach. In particular, the new measure flagged the indirect currency mismatch vulnerabilities that were building up in a number of emerging economies before the recent global crisis. Measuring currency mismatch more accurately can help country authorities in their efforts to address vulnerabilities at the right time, avoiding hurting growth prospects.
Keywords:
WP; currency; currency mismatch; foreign currency; bank; loan
Cover IMF Working Papers
Assessing the Risk of Private Sector Debt Overhang in the Baltic Countries
Ms. Valerie Herzberg
Between 2000 and 2007 nonfinancial private sector credit expanded rapidly in the Baltic countries, resulting in a non-negligible build-up of debt. Could this legacy debt hold back the economic recovery of the region? This paper analyzes the setting in each of the three countries and, with the help of an experimental Debt Overhang Index (DOI), draws tentative conclusions for domestic demand.
Keywords:
WP; debt; Latvia; Estonia
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Latvia: Second Review and Financing Assurances Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement, Request for Extension of the Arrangement and Rephasing of Purchases Under the Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Nonobservance and Applicability of Performance Criteria
International Monetary Fund
This paper discusses key findings of the Second Review and Financing Assurances Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement for Latvia. The sharp economic downturn is starting to bottom out, although recovery has not yet begun. The authorities have implemented the June 2009 supplementary budget, and met with a wide margin the end-September performance criterion on the adjusted primary balance. The continuous performance criterion on external payments arrears was missed by a small amount, which the authorities expect to resolve soon.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; GDP; government liquidity support; end-December performance criterion; financial market condition; Latvia; IMF's support; IMF's financial support; Fiscal stance; Loans; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Latvia: First Review and Financing Assurances Review Under the Stand By Arrangement, Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, and Rephasing of Purchases Under the Arrangement
International Monetary Fund
The Latvian authorities have strengthened their intervention capacity, financial supervision, and monitoring framework, and have taken steps to contain risks in Parex Bank. The staff report reviews the Republic of Latvia’s economic developments and policies. Substantial progress has been achieved in stabilizing the financial sector. The collapse in output has revealed significant underlying fiscal weaknesses that risk leading to unsustainable deficits in the absence of strong corrective measures. The deeper downturn is also in part explained by the much worse-than-projected international environment.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Latvia; Republic of Latvia executive board meeting; CPI inflation rate; surplus; macroeconomic strategy; Latvia's economy; IMF's support; consumer price inflation; Budget planning and preparation; Government debt management; Fiscal stance; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Latvia: 2006 Article IV Consultation—Staff Report; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of Latvia
International Monetary Fund
The Latvian economy has made remarkable strides, combining macroeconomic stability with rapid income convergence. An upfront policy tightening is needed to contain near-term overheating and secure a soft landing. Fiscal restraint is needed to counter the sizable demand stimulus already in play. Moderating credit growth is essential to relieve overheating pressures. Risks from the credit boom and delayed euro adoption reinforce the need for a strong regulatory and supervisory framework for banks. Safeguarding competitiveness while narrowing the wage gap requires scaling the technology ladder.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; headline inflation; EU bank; Latvia; core inflation; price; EU funds; World Economic Forum ranking Latvia; IMF staff estimate; EU grant; Credit; Current account deficits; Loans; Eastern Europe; Global; Baltics
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Latvia: Staff Report for the 2004 Article IV Consultation
International Monetary Fund
This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that since the last Article IV consultation discussions, economic activity in Latvia has maintained its momentum. GDP grew 7½ percent in 2003 and 8¾ percent year over year in the first quarter of 2004; however, inflation climbed to 6.1 percent at end-June, from 3.6 percent at end-2003. Fiscal performance has improved appreciably, and public debt remains low. The general budget deficit, at 1.6 percent of GDP in 2003, narrowed by nearly 1 percentage point from 2002, reflecting lower-than-budgeted expenditures, unexpectedly high tax revenues, and lower net lending.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; deficit; fiscal policy; EU accession; Latvia; procedure; EU market; EU entry; exchange rate; indexation procedure; Current account deficits; Credit; Inflation; Baltics; Europe; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
IMF and the Baltics: A Decade of Cooperation
Mr. Adalbert Knöbl
and
Mr. Richard D Haas
The paper is an economic history of the IMF’s involvement in the Baltic states. It describes and analyzes the initial economic stabilization; the period of consolidation and recovery; the effects of the Russian crisis of 1998; and the current growth phases of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. There is also an assessment of cooperation with the Fund based on interviews with a number of ex-officials. The major conclusion is that the Baltics have been so successful because of their early commitment to change the stabilization and reform policies needed for successful transition, and their ownership of their IMF-supported programs.
Keywords:
WP; Fund staff; country authorities; Baltic country; monetary policy; policy advice; currency reform; currency board; transition to market economy; Lithuanian authorities; authorities of the logic; Estonian authority; Latvian authorities; government intervention; Budget planning and preparation; Currency boards; Structural reforms; Currencies; Baltics