Download or read book Sierra Leone Third and Fourth Reviews Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement Requests for Extension and Rephasing of the Arrangement Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria and Financing Assurances Review Press Release Staff Report and Statement by the Executive Director for Sierra Leone written by International Monetary and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-08-13 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following two emergency Rapid Credit Facility disbursements in June 2020 and March 2021 to assist in addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sierra Leonean authorities are committed to resuming the program supported by the Extended Credit Facility arrangement. The program is an important policy anchor for the authorities, and its main objectives—revenue mobilization, safeguarding financial stability, and addressing external vulnerabilities—remain valid. While an economic recovery is underway, driven by the mining sector, risks to the outlook are considerable and, the risk of debt distress is high but remains sustainable. This is predicated on the authorities’ ambitious fiscal adjustment and continued reliance on concessional financing and grants. External vulnerabilities are expected to persist over the medium term.
Download or read book Sierra Leone written by International Monetary Fund. African Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2023-06-21 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 5th review under the ECF arrangement in July 2022, macro policies have become more expansionary than expected, inflation has continued to rise, the leone has depreciated sharply and debt related risks have increased notably. Deadly floods weakened activity and highlighted climate-related risks. The risk of social unrest remains high given the soaring cost of living and record levels of food insecurity. The President appointed a new economic team in early 2023 which has begun to take decisive action to tackle these challenges. Discussions focused on recent developments as well as policy commitments to restore stability, maintain debt sustainability, and achieve program objectives.
Download or read book Barbados written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-10-04 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The key objectives of the program are to restore macroeconomic and debt sustainability, address falling reserves, and increase growth. The new government, which took office in late May, has committed to fiscal consolidation and structural reform as key tools for macroeconomic adjustment.
Download or read book Sierra Leone written by International Monetary Fund. African Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-12-18 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sierra Leone is a fragile state. Since emerging from a decade-long civil war in 2001, the country has made notable economic progress but has also suffered occasional setbacks, such as the Ebola Virus Disease epidemic of 2014. A three-year ECF arrangement was approved June 2017 to help address Sierra Leone’s macroeconomic weaknesses—in particular, low revenue, elevated inflation, high public debt, and inadequate foreign exchange reserve buffers—which had been exacerbated by the Ebola crisis and a collapse in iron ore prices (Country Report No. 17/154). However, the program went off track shortly after approval as lackluster revenue performance and expenditure overruns led to a budget cash shortfall and a growing stock of budget arrears. With the authorities unable to take corrective actions ahead of the March 2018 presidential elections the first review of the program was put on hold. Since then elections have produced a new government, marking the first change of power in ten years. This government has taken a number of corrective actions over the last six months with the aim of reviving the program engagement with the IMF.
Download or read book Liberia written by International Monetary Fund. African Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-07-11 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper focuses on Liberia’s Third Review Under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement and Request for Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criterion (PC) and Modification of Performance Criteria. Real GDP grew at 8.7 percent in 2013 and is projected to decline to 5.9 percent in 2014 as mining production decelerates. Most end-December 2013 PCs and indicative targets (ITs) were met, except for the PC on government revenue and the IT on external borrowing. Four out of five structural benchmarks were met on time. The IMF staff supports the completion of the third ECF review.
Download or read book Chad written by International Monetary Fund. African Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2013-09-09 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper analyzes the effect of an IMF Staff-Monitored Program for Chad to enhance economic development. Weak institutional capacity and governance concerns have limited economic development and donor support in Chad. It is highlighted that the reduction in the nonoil primary deficit envisaged in the 2013 budget appears appropriate, but expenditures linked to the regional security situation and lower than anticipated oil revenues imply large financing needs. There are significant economic and political risks to program implementation,; the regional security situation remains volatile, and the economy is highly dependent on volatile oil revenue.
Download or read book The Revised EBA Lite Methodology written by International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2019-07-03 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Methodology review identified three broad areas for improving the EBA-Lite methodology: (1) expanding the fundamentals and policy determinants in the CA and REER regressions to better capture the external balance of EBA-Lite countries; (2) identifying alternatives to regression models for external assessments of large exporters of exhaustible commodities; and (3) a revised approach for the assessment of external sustainability in highly indebted economies. Accordingly, the revised methodology consists of three modules: 1) Regression Module 2) Module for External Assessments of Exporters of Exhaustible Commodities 3) Module for the Assessment of External Sustainability
Download or read book The Gambia written by International Monetary Fund and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2012-06-06 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper discusses the request from Gambian authorities for a three-year arrangement under the extended credit facility (ECF). The Gambian economy performed well during the previous IMF arrangement, which expired at the end of March 2011; however, there were slippages under the program. The authorities requested a new three-year ECF arrangement, with a large initial disbursement, but relatively low access overall. The initial disbursement would support stability during the current drought crisis, while remaining disbursements would encourage fiscal adjustment and catalyze donor support for the poverty reduction strategy.
Download or read book Sierra Leone written by International Monetary Fund. African Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2016-07-21 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Selected Issues paper aims to measure the impact of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic on economic growth in Sierra Leone. A novel empirical approach is used, which is based on a Difference in Differences setup, called the Synthetic Control Method. The model suggests that EVD had a severe impact on growth. In 2014, the first year EVD hit the country, the impact on real growth excluding iron ore is estimated to be more than 5 percentage points. It is suggested that in outer years, the severity of the impact will lessen, and growth will converge to its normal path by 2018.
Download or read book The Spending Challenge of Achieving the SDGs in South Asia Lessons from India written by Mercedes García-Escribano and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-12-17 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: South Asia has experienced significant progress in improving human and physical capital over the past few decades. Within the region, India has become a global economic powerhouse with enormous development potential ahead. To foster human and economic development, India has shown a strong commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda. This paper focuses on the medium-term development challenges that South Asia, and in particular India, faces to ensure substantial progress along the SDGs by 2030. We estimate the additional spending needed in critical areas of human capital (health and education) and physical capital (water and sanitation, electricity, and roads). We document progress on these five sectors for India relative to other South Asian countries and discuss implications for policy and reform.
Download or read book A Diversification Strategy for South Asia written by Weicheng Lian and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-07-30 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While South Asia has gone a long way in diversifying their economies, there is substantial scope to do more. Some countries – India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka – can build on their existing production capabilities; others – Bangladesh, Bhutan, and the Maldives – would need to undertake a more concerted push. We identify key policies from a large set of potential determinants that explain the variation in export diversification and complexity across 189 countries from 1962 to 2018. Our analysis suggests that South Asia needs to invest in infrastructure, education, and R&D, facilitate bank credit to productive companies, and open to trade in order to diversify and move up the value chains. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, investing in digital technologies as part of the infrastructure push and improving education are of even greater importance to facilitate the ability to work remotely and assist resource reallocation away from the less viable sectors.
Download or read book At A Cost The Real Effects of Thin Capitalization Rules written by Ruud A. de Mooij and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-02-05 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thin capitalization rules (TCRs) aim to mitigate profit shifting by multinational corporations (MNCs) but, by raising the cost of capital for affected affiliates, can also negatively affect real investment. Exploiting unique panel data on multinational companies in 34 countries during 2006-2014, we estimate that the size of this adverse investment effect can be large, and dependent on the statutory corporate tax rate and the tightness of the safe-haven ratio. Negative investment effects are more pronounced for highly-levered firms for which TCRs are more likely to be binding.
