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We study the role of life insurers in the transmission of US monetary policy. Insurers have uniquely long-term liabilities. We posit that they face a trade-off between matching liability duration exposure by investing in long-term government debt and earning higher yields by shifting to risky—but shorter-term—private debt. We show that, due to this tradeoff, long-term risk free rates play a critical role in shaping insurers' demand for risky private debt. Contractionary monetary policy shocks that raise long-term risk-free rates reduce insurers' demand for private debt, raising risk premia. We use granular, high frequency data and regulatory changes to trace how insurers' investment behavior transmits monetary policy shocks to risk premia.

This report discusses the findings and recommendations of the 2024 assessment of the data quality of the public sector debt statistics (PSDS) of the Republic of Zambia against the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) for PSDS. The assessment was undertaken as part of a project to strengthen the quality of public sector debt in select African countries, funded by the Government of Japan. The December 2023 DSA, assessed Zambia’s debt risk as in debt distress. This followed Zambia’s default on its sovereign Eurobonds in 2020 and the accumulation of arrears to both official bilateral and other commercial external creditors. As a result, the authorities have made significant efforts to strengthen public debt management including establishing Public Debt Management Act, 2022, and the operationalization of the Debt Management Office. Zambia’s PSDS have improved significantly in the last two years, consistent with the strong and sustained commitment of the government to improve debt data transparency and accountability. The report notes strengths in the legal framework and institutional arrangements underpinning the compiled and reported PSDS and finds the disseminated statistics to be broadly reliable, transparent, and of good quality. Recommendations include expanding the sector coverage beyond the budgetary central government, transparently publishing reconciliations of stocks and flows and a more detailed breakdown of arrears and making the PSDS more widely available in machine readable formats, including through the National Summary Data Page (NSDP) and joint IMF-World Bank Quarterly Public Sector Debt statistics database (QPSD).

The substantial increase in public sector wages in Mongolia introduced in the 2023 supplementary budget has raised concerns about its potential spillover effects on private sector wages and subsequent inflationary pressures. Furthermore, both public and private sector wages have grown on average faster than labor productivity in Mongolia during 2000-2023 with substantial implications for inflation. This paper aims to empirically investigate the relationship between public sector wages, private sector wages, and inflation in Mongolia, utilizing a quarterly dataset spanning from 2000Q4 to 2023Q4. Employing a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) model, we analyze the dynamic interactions among these variables to uncover the causal relationships. The findings indicate that a shock to private sector wages exerts a stronger immediate impact on inflation, peaking within the first four quarters, while a shock to public sector wages manifests a delayed effect on inflation, peaking between the sixth and ninth quarters. Additionally, shocks to public sector wages have a small and short-lived effect on private sector wages, whereas shocks to private sector wages significantly influence public sector wages, suggesting that private sector has a more leading role in wage setting behavior. These results have important policy implications, highlighting the need for public wage policies that are closely aligned with productivity changes and can contribute to macroeconomic and price stability in Mongolia.

This report discusses the findings and recommendations of the 2024 assessment of the data quality of the public sector debt statistics (PSDS) of the United Republic of Tanzania against the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) for PSDS. The assessment was undertaken as part of a project to strengthen the quality of public sector debt in select African countries, funded by the Government of Japan. In recent years, Tanzania has made significant progress in strengthening the compilation and dissemination of public sector debt statistics. The Debt Database Management Section of the Debt Management Division (DMD) in the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has been modernized by implementing the Commonwealth Secretariat web-based debt management system (CS Meridian) in the financial year (FY) 2022/23. The report notes strengths in the legal framework and institutional arrangements underpinning the compiled and reported PSDS and finds the disseminated statistics to be broadly reliable, transparent, and of good quality. Recommendations include expanding the sector coverage beyond the budgetary central government, improving the available metadata, adopting a transparent revision policy, and making the PSDS more widely available, including through the National Summary Data Page (NSDP) and joint IMF-World Bank Quarterly Public Sector Debt Statistics database (QPSD).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided technical assistance to the Banco Cabo Verde (BCV) on reforming and operationalizing its bank resolution framework. Cabo Verde's special resolution regime (SRR) has been in place since 2014, with the BCV serving as the Resolution Authority. It has been applied once, in 2017, for a non-systemic publicly owned bank, but falls short of international best practices, with limited resolution tools and inadequate safeguards to protect creditors' rights, resulting in legal uncertainties. The IMF mission recommended several enhancements, including strengthening the conditions for entry into resolution and expanding resolution tools. The operationalization of the SRR is hindered by staffing challenges, with only one full-time staff member dedicated to the resolution function, and a lack of operational independence. The mission suggested restructuring the governance of the resolution function, separating it from the BCV’s macroprudential function and elevating its status within the BCV. Strengthening resolution planning is crucial, as current legal limitations seem to restrict the BCV's ability to prepare and execute resolution plans. The BCV should also be empowered to develop comprehensive resolution plans and crisis preparedness should also be enhanced, including by developing a resolution manual and initiating crisis simulation exercises.

This technical assistance conducts a Climate Policy Diagnostic (CPD) for Papua New Guinea, covering climate adaptation and mitigation policy, as well as enabling institutions. Climate-related risks are macro-critical considerations for Papua New Guinea, while the country faces acute policy challenges in addressing climate-development nexus. This CPD identifies policy reforms that are good for climate and economic growth and promote fiscal sustainability. A systematic policy approach is needed to strengthen the climate resilience of water supply sector and disaster risk management. Carbon pricing can play a major role in the fiscal policy package to encourage climate actions in the energy and forestry sectors. Increasing the Treasury’s engagement and strengthening cross-sectoral coordination would also help unlock climate investment.