Books
2006
August 29, 2006
India Goes Global: Its Expanding Role in the Global Economy
Description: In the past few years, India has emerged as a global economic power. It is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, the leading outsourcing destination, and a favorite of international investors. But even with India’s impressive recent achievements, the country continues to face considerable challenges as it seeks to sustain rapid growth and extend the benefits to all its citizens. Is India entering into a "Golden Age" or experiencing a period of rapid but ultimately unsustainable growth? The studies in this book examine in detail what lies behind India’s recent economic rise and considers the steps needed to build on this success over the medium term.
August 28, 2006
Pacific Island Economies
Description: The Pacific island region has considerable potential for development, especially in the areas of tourism, fisheries, forestry, mining, and agriculture. However, these countries face many challenges to developing their economies and raising living standards, including their small size, distance from major markets, and vulnerability to natural disasters. The first half of this book provides an assessment of regional issues. The second half includes country-specific chapters, which provide an overview of each countries economic performance since independence and the main challenges ahead.
August 28, 2006
Sub-Saharan Africa: Financial Sector Challenges
Description: Financial sectors in low-income sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are among the world's least developed. In fact, assets in most low-income African countries are smaller than those held by a single medium-sized bank in an industrial country. The absence of deep, efficient financial markets seriously challenges policy making, hinders poverty alleviation, and constrains growth. This book argues that building efficient and sound financial sectors in SSA countries will improve Africa's economic prospects. Based on a review of the key features of financial systems, it discusses the main obstacles and challenges that financial structures pose for SSA economies and recommends steps that could address major shortcomings in implementing the reform agenda.
July 25, 2006
Financial Dollarization: The Policy Agenda
Description: Financial (unofficial) dollarization is widely seen as a critical source of financial fragility in both developing and emerging economies. This volume provides a rigorous and balanced perspective on the causes and implications of dollarization, and the basic policies and options to deal with it: the adaptation of the monetary and prudential frameworks, the development of local-currency substitutes, and the scope for limiting dollarization through administrative restrictions. For more information on how to purchase a copy of this title, please visit http://www.palgrave.com/economics/imf/index.asp.
May 9, 2006
Central America: Structural Foundations for Regional Financial Integration
Description: Intraregional financial activity in Central America has grown substantially in the past decade, contributing to efficiency and economic development. At the same time, the expansion of activities by regional conglomerates has increased the challenges to supervisory authorities of containing the risks of contagion. Prepared as part of the Central America Financial Sector Regional Project by an IMF and World Bank staff team, this book outlines trends in the region's financial sector integration, supervisory responses, development of the insurance sector, payment and securities settlement arrangements, and worker remittances. It addresses the many common policy challenges facing Central American countries--Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama--in financial sector reform. The book offers key policy recommendations.
January 12, 2006
Post-Apartheid South Africa: The First Ten Years
Description: This book provides a comprehensive review of recent economic developments in South Africa and the structural and policy challenges facing the authorities. Individual papers examine a range of topics such as unemployment and the labor market, recent trends in the private saving rate, the role of foreign direct investment in the development of South Africa’s economy, the human and economic repercussions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the role of fiscal policy in economic stabilization, inflation developments, liberalization of trade and capital transactions, exchange rate developments, and lessons from the rand crises of 1998 and 2001.
2005
December 12, 2005
Safeguarding Financial Stability: Theory and Practice
Description: How is finance related to economic processes, and why should it be viewed as a public good requiring policy action? This book provides an answer. The book develops a practical framework for safeguarding financial stability, which encompasses both prevention and resolution of problems. It also examines on-going and future challenges to financial stability posed by globalization, a growing reliance on derivatives and their markets, and the capital market activities of insurers and reinsurers.
November 30, 2005
Financial Programming and Policy the Case of Turkey
Description: The art of financial programming is a central element in the design of IMF-supported macroeconomic adjustment programs. This volume, edited by Richard Barth and William Hemphill, includes contributions from staff members of the IMF institute and introduces the reader to the concepts and tools of analysis needed to formulate a financial program. The book presents a series of workshops that explain the accounting identities, behavioral relationships, and forecasting techniques that underlie the constuction of a financial program. The workshops use the case of Turkey to illustrate the techniques, and the complete data set for Turkey is included on a diskette (supplied in a back-cover pocket).
November 16, 2005
Balance of Payments Manual
Description: The fifth edition of Balance of Payments Manual, issued in 1993, presents revised and updated standards for concepts, definitions, classifications, and conventions for compilation of balance of payments and international investment position statistics that reflect the widespread changes that have taken place in international transactions since the fouth edition was published in 1977. As the international standard, the Manual serves as a guide for IMF member countries that regularly report balance of payments data to the IMF. The Manual contains significantly expanded and restructured coverage of financial flows and stocks and international transactions in services. Harmonization with the System of National Accounts and other IMF statistical systems is also greatly increased. See also companion volumes, the Balance of Payments Compilation Guide and the Balance of Payments Textbook.
July 13, 2005
Kosovo: Gearing Policies toward Growth and Development
Description: This report builds on two previous similar reports from 2001 and 2002-Kosovo: Macroeconomic Issues and Fiscal Sustainability (2001) and Kosovo: Institutions and Policies for Reconstruction and Growth (2002). It is based on work performed during four IMF staff visits spanning a 15-month period from January 2003 to March 2004. The analysis and recommendations of this book contribute to informing the debate about economic policies, in particular, and about the broader issues that will shape Kosovo’s future.