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Africa > Malawi

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

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Malawi: Request for Disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Malawi
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper discusses Malawi’s Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is having a severe impact on Malawi, creating an urgent balance of payments need. The authorities have been proactive in mitigating the impact of the pandemic, including through increased spending on health care and social assistance, supporting small and medium enterprises, bolstering farmers’ incomes and ensuring food security through purchase and storage of agricultural harvests, and easing liquidity constraints in the banking system. The IMF’s emergency financing under the RCF is expected to help the authorities meet the large external financing gap and catalyze further assistance from the international community. Additional concessional donor support will be critical to close the remaining external financing gap and facilitate the needed interventions to ease the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, while preserving Malawi’s hard-earned macroeconomic stability. A widening of the budget deficit is appropriate in the near-term, given the fiscal costs associated with the economic slowdown and critical additional health care and social spending needs, which should be executed transparently and targeted to the most affected parts of society.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; financing; pandemic; emergency financing request; IMF lending tracker; revenue shortfall; development spending; banking system liquidity constraint; financial support; current account; debt relief; Imports; Debt service; Global; COVID-19
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Malawi: 2012 Article IV Consultation and Request for a New Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility: Staff Report; Staff Supplements; Public Information Notice and Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Malawi.
International Monetary Fund
The Malawian economy is slowly recovering, thanks to corrective measures such as the floating exchange rate regime and liberated current account transactions. Stringent fiscal discipline, restrained monetary policies, and boosting of international reserves have been suggested as measures for controlling inflation and stabilizing the macroeconomy. Operation power and freedom for results-based management (RBM) and implementation of Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II (MGDS-II) are also suggested by the Executive Board. Measures to ensure revenue gain concurrent with spending have also been recommended.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; ECF arrangement; government; devaluation; equivalent; current account transaction; second growth; amount equivalent to SDR; anchor inflation expectation; floating exchange rate regime; prudent fiscal policy; International reserves; Budget planning and preparation; Imports; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
External Debt Sustainability in HIPC Completion Point Countries: An Update
Jie Yang
and
Dan Nyberg
Despite substantial debt relief to HIPC Initiative completion point countries, long-term debt sustainability remains a challenge. This paper examines a number of structural factors affecting external debt sustainability. It shows that in HIPC completion point countries (i) the export base broadly remains narrow; (ii) fiscal revenue mobilization lags behind in some countries; and (iii) policy and institutional frameworks are still relatively weak. Achieving and maintaining longterm debt sustainability in completion point countries will require continued structural reforms, timely donor support, and close monitoring of new non-concessional borrowing.
Keywords:
WP; HIPC; HIPC country; HIPC Completion point countries; export; HIPC decision point; External Debt Sustainability; HIPCs; Low-Income Countries; HIPC completion; country grouping; HIPC CP country; export diversification; Exports; Debt sustainability; Export diversification; Agricultural commodities; Oil; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Malawi: Request for a One-Year Exogenous Shocks Facility Arrangement: Staff Report; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Malawi
International Monetary Fund
This paper discusses a request from Malawi for a one-year exogenous shocks facility (ESF) arrangement to help it adjust to the large terms-of-trade shock it has suffered. Real GDP growth of Malawi has been high and is expected to remain solid. Inflation, though rising in recent months, is still moderate and is expected to ease over the medium term. The government’s near-term program aims to increase the import coverage of official gross reserves while preserving growth and food security. IMF staff supports the authorities’ request for a one-year high-access ESF arrangement.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; fertilizer price; Malawi; IMF's executive board; government; balance of payments financing need; Malawi authorities; terms of trade shock; International reserves; Financial statistics; Imports; Credit; Exports; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Malawi: Debt Relief at the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative Completion Point and Under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative
International Monetary Fund
Malawi has made satisfactory progress in implementing its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for at least one year, and maintained satisfactory macroeconomic policies as evidenced by its performance under a program supported by the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) over the last fiscal year 2005/2006. The completion point analysis shows the actual outturn to be 245 percent of exports. After additional voluntary bilateral debt relief, this ratio declines to 229 percent of exports. The paper assesses the sensitivity of debt indicators to changes in key economic variables.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; HIPC assistance; debt forgiveness; debt ratio; discount rate; Malawian authorities; real GDP; annual debt service; completion point; Debt relief; Debt service; Exports; Public and publicly-guaranteed external debt; Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Malawi: First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility—Staff Report; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Malawi
International Monetary Fund
This paper presents Malawi’s First Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. The overvalued exchange rate has put external reserves under pressure, and the backlog of unpaid import invoices persists. The impact of the overvalued exchange rate on the value of donor inflows and the unforeseen upward revisions to debt obligations has increased domestic borrowing needs. The government is committed to program implementation, but faces intense political pressures because of its minority position in parliament.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; PRGF loan; PRGF-supported program; Three-Year PRGF arrangement; government; medium term strategy; broad money; Credit; Imports
Cover IMF Working Papers
Does Import Protection Discourage Exports?
Mr. Stephen Tokarick
This paper points out that while many developing countries seek to increase their export earnings, they have not embraced fully the notion that their own pattern of import protection hurts their export performance. The paper quantifies the extent to which import protection acts as a tax on a country's export sector and finds that for many developing countries, the magnitude of the implicit tax is substantial-about 12 percent, on average, for the countries studied. The paper also illustrates the effects of various tariff-cutting scenarios in the Doha Round on export incentives and concludes that, in general, developing countries could increase their export earnings by reducing their own import tariffs, but countries must be careful about how these tariff reductions are achieved. For example, tariff-cutting schemes that exempt certain sectors could actually be harmful.
Keywords:
WP; export; tariff; import; developing country; import tariff; Tariffs; export tax; welfare; restrictiveness; export-tax equivalent; tariff barrier; export disincentive; anti-export bias; Exports; Imports; Trade barriers; Export prices; Africa
Cover IMF Staff Papers
IMF Staff Papers, Volume 51, No. 1
International Monetary Fund. Research Dept.
This first issue of Volume 51 for 2004 includes a new paper by Peter B. Clark and Jacques J. Polak, along with a tribute from the Editor to Mr. Polak in honor of his 90th birthday. This issue also launches a new featured section, "Data Issues," which will be devoted in future issues to on-going discussions of the latest in econometric and statistical tools for economists, data puzzles, and other related topics of interest to researchers.
Keywords:
SP; data puzzle; preassembled data; Brazil-type debt crisis; country credit ratings; topics of research interest; Commercial banks; Exports; Price indexes; Corruption; Real wages; East Asia; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Malawi: Use of Fund Resources—Request for Emergency Assistance
International Monetary Fund
This paper assesses Malawi’s Use of IMF Resources and Request for Emergency Assistance. The food shortage in early 2002 in Malawi has caused immense human suffering. IMF staff endorses the authorities’ decision to undertake large-scale food imports to complement the humanitarian aid efforts. Moreover, as effective targeting mechanisms are not available, the IMF staff supports the provision of a price subsidy as the most efficient way of reaching the poor who do not benefit from humanitarian aid.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; food; shortage; emergency; net; emergency loan; growth excl. foodstuff; international community; maize import; large-scale food import; large-scale import; Imports; Monetary base; Emergency assistance; Food imports; Southern Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Malawi: Staff Report for the 2002 Article IV Consultation and Economic Program for 2002
International Monetary Fund
This paper assesses Malawi’s 2002 Article IV Consultation and Economic Program for 2002. Malawi’s economic program was guided by the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process. The program has been designed in close collaboration with the World Bank and other members of the international community. Malawi’s core economic databases are weak, and the authorities will have to address serious deficiencies more forcefully. Growth performance was disappointing in 2001, with real output likely to have contracted. For 2002, preliminary agricultural production data point at best to a weak economic recovery.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; report; staff appraisal; government; food; food policy; government mandate; balance of payments gap; World Bank staff; Malawi's food situation; Budget planning and preparation; Imports; Food security; Monetary base; Southern Africa