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Europe > Montenegro

You are looking at 1 - 5 of 5 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • International Economics x
  • IMF Working Papers x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
Inflation Dynamics in the Western Balkans
Gohar Minasyan
,
Ezgi O. Ozturk
,
Magali Pinat
,
Mengxue Wang
, and
Zeju Zhu
After trailing Euro Area inflation closely in the recent past, inflation in the Western Balkans has accelerated faster since early 2022 on the back of the shocks to global commodity prices, strong recovery from the pandemic, and lingering supply bottlenecks. This paper employs two complementary empirical approaches of an augmented Phillips curve and structural VAR, adapting them to the data availability and country specificities of the Western Balkans, to analyze the inflation dynamics in the region. It finds that international food prices affect not only headline but also core inflation as well as inflation expectations. Further, inflation in the Western Balkans is not just determined by foreign shocks, and domestic factors, aggregate demand shocks in particular, have a significant impact on inflation. These findings imply a possible role for policies to temporarily limit an immediate and complete pass-through of international to domestic food prices while also stressing the importance of an appropriate domestic macroeconomic policy mix to keep inflation expectations anchored and safeguard credibility in the face of high inflation persistence.
Keywords:
Inflation; Western Balkans; international food price shocks; commodity price shocks; Phillips curve; panel data; structural VAR; inflation expectation; inflation dynamics; inflations determinant; inflation development; inflation in the Western Balkans; Food prices; Energy prices; Nominal effective exchange rate; Global; Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Does A Regional Trade Agreement Lessen or Exacerbate Growth Volatility? An Empirical Investigation
Mr. Kangni R Kpodar
and
Patrick A. Imam
This paper assesses how regional trade agreements (RTAs) impact growth volatility on a worldwide sample of 170 countries with data spanning the period 1978-2012. Notwithstanding concerns that trade openness through RTAs can heighten exposure to shocks, in particular when it leads to increased product specialization, RTAs through enhanced policy credibility, improved policy coordination, and reduced risk of conflicts can ease growth volatility. Empirical estimations suggest the benefits outweigh the costs as RTAs are consistently associated with lower growth volatility, after controlling for trade openness and other determinants of growth volatility. Furthermore, regression results also suggest that countries that are more prone to shocks are more likely to join a RTA, in particular with countries with relatively less volatile growth, additionally enhancing the stabilization effect.
Keywords:
WP; growth volatility; regional trade agreement; trade openness; RTA member; trade partner; standard deviation; mega-RTAs agreement; growth rate; RTA dummy variable; affect growth volatility; trade creation; RTA member country; Regional trade; Exports; Imports; Trade agreements; Terms of trade; West Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Impact of the Global Crisison South-Eastern Europe
Francesco Spadafora
,
Mr. Emidio Cocozza
, and
Mr. Andrea Colabella
This paper analyzes the impact of the global crisis on six South-Eastern European countries. The main objective is to compare macro-financial conditions and policies in the run-up to the crisis as well as to compare the policy responses to it, so as to highlight, inter alia, possible country-specific constraints. While sharing a common pre-crisis pattern of strong capital inflows and robust growth, a key difference in the conduct of macroeconomicpolicies is that some countries adopted expansionary (and procyclical) fiscal policies. These moves exacerbated external vulnerabilities and compromised the ability to discretionarily use the fiscal instrument in acountercyclical fashion.
Keywords:
WP; current account; budget deficit; foreign currency; financial support; core inflation; international capital flows; current account adjustment; IMF financial support; FYR Macedonia; transmission mechanism; short-term debt; Current account deficits; Budget planning and preparation; Government debt management; Global; Western Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Foreign Direct Investment in Southeastern Europe: How (and How Much) Can Policies Help?
Ms. Elina Ribakova
,
Mr. Balázs Horváth
,
Mr. Dimitri G Demekas
, and
Mr. Yi Wu
Gravity factors explain a large part of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in Southeastern Europe-a region not comprehensively covered before in econometric studies-but hostcountry policies also matter. Key are policies that affect relative unit labor costs, the corporate tax burden, infrastructure, and the trade regime. This paper develops the concept of potential FDI for each country, and uses its deviation from actual levels to estimate what policies can realistically be expected to achieve in terms of additional FDI. It also finds evidence that above a certain threshold, the importance of some policies for attracting FDI is distinctly different.
Keywords:
WP; FDI flow; aggregate FDI panel regression; FDI stock; source country; cross-section regression
Cover IMF Working Papers
Trade Liberalization Strategies: What Could South Eastern Europe Learn From Cefta and Bfta?
Antonis Adam
,
Mr. James McHugh
, and
Mr. Theodora Kosma
This paper explores the effectiveness of the Central European Free Trade Area (CEFTA) and the Baltic Free Trade Area (BFTA). Estimates from a gravity model and bilateral trade data support the view that both CEFTA and BFTA helped expand regional trade and limit the emergence of a "hub-and-spoke" relationship between the CEECs and the European Union (EU). These empirical conclusions carry some important policy implications for the "second wave" of prospective EU members among Southeastern European Countries (SEECs). The paper argues that the SEECs should reconsider their bilateral approach to trade liberalization and move towards a multilateral free-trade area as exemplified by both the CEFTA and BFTA.
Keywords:
WP; BFTA agreement; EU agreement; market share; CEFTA membership; EU accession process; Trade liberalization; gravity models; stability pact; CEFTA; BFTA; EU enlargement; EU membership; BFTA country; CEFTA exports to the EU; Customs unions; Exports; Trade agreements; Trade balance; Europe; Eastern Europe; Baltics