Country Reports
2018
November 8, 2018
Solomon Islands: 2018 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Solomon Islands
Description: Solomon Islands has made substantial progress since the Tensions in the early 2000s but faces considerable economic and governance challenges and is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. The logging industry confronts depletion and new sources of growth are needed. Governance challenges are significant, stemming from weak oversight of the resource sectors, a lack of transparency and a need to strengthen public financial management.
November 8, 2018
Mexico: 2018 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Staff Statement
Description: A new political landscape is shaping up in Mexico following the July elections. President-elect López Obrador has promised to reduce corruption and crime, and boost social spending and public investment, while maintaining fiscal prudence. The incoming administration will inherit an economy with very strong fundamentals and policy frameworks that has exhibited resilience in the face of a complex external environment. But Mexico still confronts significant challenges—namely to strengthen growth while reducing poverty and inequality—and has yet to win the fight against corruption and crime. At the same time, uncertainty associated with the global economic environment and the policies of the incoming administration persists. Prospects hinge on the steadfast implementation of structural reforms while ensuring continued macroeconomic stability.
November 8, 2018
Mexico: Selected Issues
Description: This Selected Issues paper on Mexico documents the composition, trends, and labor market implications of informality using data from the National Employment Survey (ENOE). Over half of the employed population has informal contractual relationships in Mexico both at formal and informal firms. Informality is found to be associated with lower levels of pay—even when accounting for worker composition differences—and lower wage growth over the life cycle. Policy drivers of this market duality, including minimum wage policy, are discussed. The results suggest that informality tends to select workers with lower earnings potential and limits their development. Informality indeed tends to be more prevalent among younger and less educated workers, for which better paid jobs are harder to come by. Moreover, it appears to lead workers toward a path of limited earnings and perhaps skill growth potential. Future labor market reforms should take a holistic approach that addresses both distributional concerns and formality barriers. One alternative is to reduce dependence on payroll taxes that are biased toward formal salaried workers while transitioning toward a social insurance system that provides good-quality services for all, irrespective of their salaried/nonsalaried status.
November 7, 2018
Georgia: Technical Assistance Report-Public Investment Management Assessment
Description: The Government’s decision to strengthen the infrastructure governance through improving the public investment management (PIM) and the public-private partnerships (PPPs) frameworks, is both timely and important. The government has an ambitious public investment agenda, to be implemented both through traditional public investment and with the help of private investors in the form of PPPs. Given the need to preserve fiscal sustainability in a context of limited fiscal space, avoiding inefficiencies and managing fiscal costs and risks arising from infrastructure projects will be crucial for advancing the government’s public investment agenda. The authorities are working on a broad range of public financial management reforms, including improving the PIM framework and the legal and regulatory framework for PPPs and PPAs. Over the last decade, public investment in Georgia has been similar to the average of emerging market economies (EMEs). Since the mid-2000s, public investment accounted, on average, for one third of total investment. Public investment remained volatile, reaching a peak of 8.6 percent of GDP in 2007, declining in the aftermath of large global and regional shocks, and stabilizing at about 5.5 percent of GDP in recent years.
November 7, 2018
Cambodia: Technical Assistance Report-Tax Administration Modernization Priorities 2019–23
Description: This FAD mission reviewed recent progress to improve tax administration and identified areas of priority tax administration modernization for 2019–23. The MEF has been implementing the RMS, a major component of which is the strengthening of the administration of the GDT. As the RMS ends in 2018, the MEF is now developing the next phase of reforms to strengthen the revenue system of Cambodia over the period 2019 to 2023. The GDT has made significant progress with implementing the RMS measures under its responsibility, and achieved extremely positive revenue growth and collections. The GDT has completed 71 out of the 86 RMS tax administration measures; the remaining 15 are under active progress. Since 2012, the GDT has routinely exceeded its revenue targets, and year-on-year revenue growth has far exceeded the annual levels of economic growth. Cambodia’s 2017 tax-to-GDP ratio of 17.2 percent is now comparable with many regional countries.
November 7, 2018
Jamaica: Fourth Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement, Request for Modification of Performance Criteria, and Monetary Policy Consultation Clause-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Jamaica
Description: Stable macroeconomy but growth continues to underperform. After nearly six years of economic reforms, unemployment is at an almost 11-year low, poverty is at a 9-year low, inflation is low, public debt is firmly on a downward trajectory, and international reserves are at historically high levels. Still, growth remains lackluster. Private investment has not fully taken advantage of the unprecedented opportunities presented by macroeconomic stability and strong fundamentals. Structural impediments need to be quickly addressed to foster capital formation. Sustained weak growth risks impeding reform momentum and could make achieving the government’s policy objectives more difficult.
November 2, 2018
Mongolia: Fifth Review Under the Extended Fund Facility Arrangement and Request for Modification and Waiver of Applicability of Performance Criteria-Press Release; Staff Report; Staff Supplement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Mongolia
Description: A three-year arrangement for Mongolia under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) was approved on May 24, 2017, in an amount equivalent to SDR 314.5054 million (435 percent of quota, or about $425 million). The arrangement is part of a $5.5 billion multi-donor financing package that supports the authorities’ Economic Recovery Plan. The extended arrangement is subject to quarterly reviews.
November 1, 2018
Indonesia: Technical Assistance Report-Report on Sectoral Financial Accounts and Balance Sheets Technical Assistance Mission
Description: As part of the Switzerland State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) project, a technical assistance mission visited Jakarta, Indonesia, during January 8–12, 2018, to develop the capacity to compile integrated sectoral accounts and balance sheets data. The mission reviewed the results of the work undertaken to implement the recommendations of the September 2017 mission.
October 31, 2018
Somalia: Technical Assistance Report-Internal Audit and Accounting Training for the Central Bank of Somalia
Description: This Technical Assistance Report discusses the recommendation made by the IMF mission to assist the authorities in Somalia in developing proper frameworks for internal auditing and accounting to bring them toward international accepted norms. The Internal Audit Department (IAD) needs an infrastructure to make the internal audit practices sustainable, repeatable, and professional. To this end, a proper internal audit charter, audit committee charter, and internal auditing manual needs to be drafted and approved by the management and Board of the Central Bank of Somalia (CBS). In addition, the management of the CBS should appoint a head for the IAD to lead the establishment of internal audit function and consider a flatter organizational structure so that the IAD can mobilize its resources more efficiently.
October 30, 2018
Bhutan: 2018 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Bhutan
Description: This 2018 Article IV Consultation highlights that Bhutan continued to make strides in raising per capita incomes and reducing poverty as it concluded the 11th Five Year Plan in 2018. Notably, poverty declined from 12 percent in 2012 to 8.2 percent, and extreme poverty fell to just 1.5 percent. The country is poised to transition to middle-income status, with per capita incomes at nearly US$3,600 in 2018, up from US$1,100 in 2004. Growth has remained robust, averaging 6 percent over the 11th Plan. In FY2018, growth is expected to slow to 5.8 percent from 7.4 percent in FY2017, reflecting slowing construction activity of hydropower projects set to come on stream in 2018 and beyond.