This paper provides background information on the Lebanese economy, based on an analysis of the economic consequences of war, and discusses several issues that will be central to Lebanon's prospects for recovery

In Casino Capitalism Hans-Werner Sinn examines the causes of the banking crisis, points out the flaws in the economic rescue packages, and presents a master plan for the reform of financial markets. Sinn argues that the crisis came about because limited liability induced both Wall Street and Main Street to gamble with real estate properties. He meticulously describes the process of lending to American homeowners and criticizes both the process of securitizing and selling mortgage ...

Unwritten rules of Wall Street--what works, what doesn't, and how investors can tell the difference. Investing is governed by unofficial rules, passed to investors through brokers, the financial press, and even fellow investorsFor more than a decade, in two previous editions, Stock Market Rules has helped investors separate the most valuable of these maxims from the meaningless and even potentially harmful. But with recent market turbulence and scandals blindsiding...

This paper offers Algeria's recent experience with macroeconomic stabilization and systemic transformation from a centrally planned to a market economy. The analyses focuses on the period since 1994 when Algeria embarked on a comprehensive reform program that has benefitted from IMF support, first through a one-year Stand-by Arrangement, and from May 1995, through a three-year arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility. To better understand this experience, this paper provides some backg...

Over the past few decades, a clear trend has emerged worldwide toward the devolution of spending and, to a lesser extent, revenue-raising responsibilities to state and local levels of government. One view is that the decentralization of spending responsibilities can entail substantial gains in terms of distributed equity and macroeconomic management. The papers in this volume, edited by Teresa Ter-Minassian, examine the validity of these views in light of theoretical considerations, as well a...

Su guía para entender por qué la junta de control existe y cuáles serán sus prioridades al gobernar a Puerto Rico¿CUÁL FUE LA PROMESA?Bajo la PROMESA, a pesar de que los puertorriqueños elegiremos al Gobernador y a los miembros de la Asamblea Legislativa, las leyes, reglamentos, órdenes ejecutivas que aprueben, y las decisiones fiscales, financieras y económicas que tomen, tendrán que ser revisadas y aprobadas por una junta de control compuesta por siete miembros designados...

Sponsored by the IMF's Statistics Department and edited by Vicente Galbis, this volume contributes to the international discussion that resulted in the UN's "A System of National Accounts, 1993." Experts from the IMF, UN, OECD, EC, and statistical institutions examine issues pertaining to external sector transactions, public sector accounts, and financial flows and balances.

Many developing and emerging countries do not fully pass-through increases in international fuel prices to domestic retail prices, with adverse consequences for fuel tax revenues and tax volatility. The adoption of an automatic fuel pricing mechanism can help to address this problem, and the incorporation of a price smoothing mechanism can ensure pass-through over the medium term but also avoid sharp increases (and decreases) in domestic prices. This technical note addresses the following ...

This book investigates the impact of International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes on macroeconomic instability and economic growth in recipient countries. Employing the New Institutional Economics approach as an analytical framework, it identifies the determinants of economic and political institutional quality by taking into account a broad variety of indicators such as parliamentary forms of government, the aggregate governance level, civil and economic liberties, property rights etc. Th...

China's economic performance hs been remarkable since the the reform process began 15 years ago. Notwithstanding the achievements that have been made, a number of serious problems remain. This papers discusses the current reform program and the effors being made to overcome the structural impediments to growth.

In Formal and Informal Social Safety Nets , Ashraf analyses the role of social safety nets in a time when our global economy threatens our way of life, as entire cities such as Detroit are declared bankrupt.

This book, edited by Paul R. Masson, Thomas Krueger, and Bart G. Turtelboom, contains the proceedings of the seminar held in Washington, D.C. on March 17-18, 1997, cosponsored by the IMF and Fondation Camille Gutt. Conference participants discussed implications of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on exchange and financial markets, and consequently on the activities of market participants and private and official institutions. The five main themes of the seminar were the characterist...