Country Reports
2021
July 28, 2021
Dominican Republic: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Dominican Republic
Description: The pandemic interrupted a prolonged growth spell that made the Dominican Republic one of the most dynamic economies in the region amid strong growth, macroeconomic stability and improved social outcomes. This built resilience to the shock—including by maintaining access to markets—and allowed a decisive policy response to address the health emergency, support growth, and protect the vulnerable.
July 28, 2021
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Request for a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility; Review of Performance Under the Staff Monitored Program-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Democratic Republic of Congo
Description: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a fragile state and vulnerable to recurrent shocks. Relations with the Fund have been quite active since early 2019, with a Staff Monitored Program (SMP) coupled with a Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) disbursement in December 2019 and a second RCF disbursement in April 2020 to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Economic activity decelerated sharply in 2020 because of the crisis and reserves decreased to less than two weeks of imports. President Tshisekedi requested a three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement to support his medium-term reform program.
July 26, 2021
Republic of Moldova: Technical Assistance Report-Country Governance Assessment
Description: Despite having legal and institutional frameworks largely in place, Moldova continues to suffer from significant corruption and governance vulnerabilities. These are fairly pronounced in the areas of rule of law, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), and SOE governance, while other areas assessed for purposes of this report (PFM, tax administration, central bank governance and financial sector oversight) presented some good progress in mitigating such vulnerabilities.
July 23, 2021
Ghana: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Ghana
Description: Ghana has been hit hard by the pandemic. The government’s proactive response helped contain the spread of COVID-19, protecting lives and limiting the impact on economic activity. However, partly because of the pandemic, the fiscal position worsened considerably last year, with a sharp increase in public sector debt.
July 23, 2021
Maldives: Technical Assistance Report-Fiscal Transparency Evaluation
Description: Reflecting an ongoing commitment to enhancing fiscal transparency, Maldives is the first small island state, and the second country in Asia, to have undertaken a Fiscal Transparency Evaluation (FTE). The Government of the Maldives (GoM) recognizes the importance of transparency in fiscal management and in delivering on its ambitious policy agenda, while responding to current challenges within a tight fiscal environment. This report assesses fiscal transparency practices in Maldives against the first three pillars of the IMF’s Fiscal Transparency Code (FTC).
July 23, 2021
Rwanda: Fourth Review of the Policy Coordination Instrument and Request of an Extension of the Policy Coordination Instrument-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Rwanda
Description: Recent economic developments. Despite a sizeable policy response, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact Rwanda’s economy and social fabric, with output contracting by 3.4 percent in 2020. The vaccine rollout is expected to help counter the pandemic and support the economic recovery, but risks remain elevated. While progress was made in several reform areas, some envisaged reforms are being delayed. The authorities requested the extension of the program by one year to make progress on ongoing reforms and policies to support the economic recovery and meet their fiscal consolidation and debt objectives. Rwanda received debt relief under the third tranche of the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT).
July 22, 2021
United States: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the United States
Description: The new administration’s policies have put the U.S. economy on a strong footing. An effective vaccine rollout has put the number of new COVID-19 cases on a firmly downward path. At the same time, unprecedented fiscal support is quickly restoring the economy back to full employment and generating positive outward spillovers to the world economy. These efforts have not been costless: the path for public debt is far higher; the current account deficit has grown; and very accommodative financial conditions have led to increased corporate and nonbank leverage and rising valuations across a range of assets. The pandemic continues to weigh heavily on those at the lower end of the income distribution, exposing longstanding inequities in access to quality healthcare and education (many of which have an important gender and racial dimension).
July 22, 2021
Arab Republic of Egypt: 2021 Article IV Consultation, Second Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Arab Republic of Egypt
Description: The economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year has been well-managed by the authorities. Timely and prudent fiscal and monetary easing shielded the economy from the full brunt of the crisis, while alleviating the health and social impact of the shock. Sound economic policies helped deliver macroeconomic stabilization, safeguard debt sustainability, and preserve investor confidence. While growth is expected to rebound in FY2021/22, the outlook is still clouded by uncertainty related to the pandemic and the pace of vaccinations. High public debt and large gross financing needs leave Egypt vulnerable to external shocks or changes in financial market conditions for EMs. Near-term fiscal and monetary policies should thus continue to support the recovery without accumulating undue imbalances.
July 21, 2021
Republic of Estonia: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: Macroeconomic performance and buffers were strong when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Economic and social restrictions instituted in March 2020 helped slow new infections and mitigate negative health outcomes but triggered a deep decline in activity in Q2:2020. The slump was followed by a strong rebound in Q3 as the restrictions were eased. With the resurgence of the virus, pressures on the health system peaked in late-March 2021 and eased after a new round of restrictions. Going forward, the outlook is for a near-term economic recovery subject to large two-way risks. The strength and durability of the recovery hinges on the evolution of the health situation and the extent of economic scarring from the pandemic.