Narrow Your Choices

Refine By Topic

Refine By Series

Refine By Language

Refine By Date

—

Refine By IMF Taxonomy

Refine By JEL Taxonomy

Refine by LOC Taxonomy

Refine By THEMA Taxonomy

  • Print
  • Save

Western Hemisphere > Nicaragua

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 103 items for

  • Type: Journal Issue x
Clear All Modify Search
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Nicaragua: 2023 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
The 2023 Article IV Consultation highlights that Nicaragua’s economy has remained resilient in the face of multiple shocks, supported by appropriate economic policies, substantial buffers, and multilateral support. The external and fiscal positions are assessed to be sustainable under the baseline scenario, given the current policy mix and financing plans. In 2024 and the medium-term real Gross domestic Product (GDP) growth is expected to converge to potential sustained by domestic demand and remittances. Risks to this outlook include on the upside higher than projected real GDP growth due to sustained recovery in the domestic demand and remittances, especially in the near term, and on the downside a deterioration in the terms of trade, a more severe global downturn than currently incorporated into the baseline scenario, natural disasters, and stricter international sanctions. The report suggests investing in human capital and infrastructure; implementing policies to raise labor force participation and enhance the business environment by strengthening government institutions and frameworks in the areas of contract enforcement, protecting property rights, and resolving insolvencies.
Keywords:
government institution; government deposit; exports threshold; authorities' effort; financial asset; burden indicator; central bank; Public sector; Government finance statistics; Foreign direct investment; Global; Central America
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Costa Rica: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This Selected Issues paper focuses on the neutral interest rate in Costa Rica. Estimates of Costa Rica’s real natural rate of interest are between 0 and 3 percent, with a suite of semistructural and univariate methods reaffirming this conclusion at close to 1 percent. This toolkit of multiple differing methods accounts for characteristics of the Costa Rican economy and suggests current monetary policy remains restrictive. Univariate estimates for Costa Rica are between those for the United States and largest regional peers. Structural changes to the Costa Rican economy, particularly in recent years, have important implications for the movement in the neutral rate. A suite of univariate methods also reaffirms this conclusion and suggests current monetary policy remains restrictive. Estimates for Costa Rica are between the United States and largest regional peers. Replicating the univariate approach for the United States and other countries in Latin America suggests Costa Rica has a somewhat lower neutral real interest rate than the largest regional peers, Brazil and Mexico, which currently appear to have neutral rates above 2 percent but above the United States.
Keywords:
labor market characteristic; refugees in Costa rica; estimation uncertainty; neutral real interest rate; card payment fee; Real interest rates; Migration; Labor markets; Social assistance spending; Caribbean
Cover IMF Working Papers
How to Mitigate the Impact of Economic Downturns on Labor Markets: Evidence from Nicaragua
Ms. Sandra Marcelino and Mariana Sans
This paper studies the drivers of the labor market performance in Nicaragua with a particular focus on informality, to identify vulnerable groups during economic downturns; and estimates the speed of adjustment of employment to shocks. The paper compares this experience with the ones in other CAPDR countries (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama). Our findings are that while the high countercyclical informality in Nicaragua has been the active margin of adjustment during economic downturns mitigating unemployment, the trade-off has been a lower speed of adjustment to shocks hampering the country’s ability to revert to its potential. Policy recommendations relate to mitigating the impact of downturns on employment in Nicaragua, easing adjustments and inequalities in the labor market to hasten the employment recovery and thus, support growth.
Keywords:
labor market indicator; informality responsiveness; indicators in Nicaragua; labor market performance; employment recovery; Labor markets; Labor force participation; Employment; Unemployment; Unemployment rate; Global; Western Hemisphere; Caribbean
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Nicaragua: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Nicaragua
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This 2022 Article IV Consultation highlights that prudent macroeconomic policies, substantial pre-crisis buffers and official external financial assistance helped Nicaragua’s economy rebound from a protracted contraction during 2018–2020, caused by the socio-political crisis of 2018, two major hurricanes in 2020, and the pandemic. Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to moderate to 3 percent in 2023, due mainly to the global slowdown. Inflation—which reached 11.4 percent in November 2022, primarily due to import price increases—is projected to decline in 2023 in line with lower growth and an expected significant decline in global inflation. In the medium term, real GDP is expected to grow by about 3 1/2 percent, below the pre-crisis historical average, as credit to the private sector and private investment cautiously recover. The favorable outlook is subject to uncertainty and risks on the downside, primarily due to external developments, natural disasters, or deterioration in the business climate and stricter international sanctions.
Keywords:
implementation capacity; inflation expectation; IMF team; article IV consultation swith Nicaragua; authorities' measure; Medium-term real GDP growth; Public sector; Government finance statistics; Debt sustainability analysis; Global; Central America