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Chart of the Week: Central and Eastern Europe Close the Gap

May 22, 2017

Version in Русский (Russian)

Most of the countries of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe will see their economies humming away at a strong growth rate in 2017. A measure of their success at fully utilizing their economic machine is the output gap—the difference between what the economy is currently producing, and what it can produce when it is at full capacity.

Our Chart of the Week from a recently published report on the Central, Eastern, and Southeastern European region shows how close these economies come to performing at full potential. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Central and Eastern Europe Close the Gap” »

By IMFBlog| May 22nd, 2017|Economic research, Europe, growth, IMF, inflation, Investment, jobs, labor markets, trade, wages|

Countries in the IMF Financial Spotlight in 2017

By iMFdirect

The IMF will assess a range of financial systems in 2017: large ones such as China and Japan, medium-sized ones like Luxembourg, Spain, and Turkey, and small ones such as Guyana and Zambia. Continue reading “Countries in the IMF Financial Spotlight in 2017” »

By IMFBlog| January 5th, 2017|Economic research, Financial markets, International Monetary Fund, monetary policy|

Europe’s Russian Connections

By Aasim M. Husain, Anna Ilyina and Li Zeng

(Version in Русский)

The conflict in Ukraine and the related imposition of sanctions against Russia signal an escalation of geopolitical tensions that is already being felt in the Russian financial markets (Chart 1). A deterioration in the conflict, with or even without a further escalation of sanctions and counter-sanctions, could have a substantial adverse impact on the Russian economy through direct and indirect (confidence) channels.

Chart 1

What would be the repercussions for the rest of Europe if there were to be disruptions in trade or financial flows with Russia, or if economic growth in Russia were to take a sharp downturn? To understand which countries in Europe might be most affected, we looked at the broad channels by which they are connected to Russia—their trade, energy, investment, and financial ties. See also separate blog on Russia-Caucasus and Central Asia links.

Continue reading “Europe’s Russian Connections” »

By IMFBlog| August 1st, 2014|Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Europe, Globalization, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Reform, Uncategorized, Русский|

Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe: Safeguarding the Recovery as the Global Liquidity Tide Recedes

By Reza Moghadam, Aasim M. Husain, and Anna Ilyina

(Version in Türk)

Growth is gathering momentum in most of Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE) in the wake of the recovery in the euro area. Excluding the largest economies—Russia and Turkey—the IMF’s latest Regional Economic Issues report projects the region to grow 2.3 percent in 2014, almost twice last year’s pace. This is certainly good news.

Continue reading “Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe: Safeguarding the Recovery as the Global Liquidity Tide Recedes” »

By IMFBlog| April 29th, 2014|Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Employment, Europe, Financial Crisis, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Uncategorized|

Growing Institutions? Grow the People!

The current crisis in the eurozone also highlights the importance of coherent economic and political institutions at all levels of economic development. Weaknesses in national macroeconomic and statistical institutions in supposedly “advanced” countries were at the root of the crisis, especially in Greece. And the lack of supportive fiscal and regulatory institutions at the European level—which require making additional steps in political integration—is behind the markets’ continued anxiety surrounding the common European currency.

By IMFBlog| August 10th, 2012|Advanced Economies, Africa, Asia, Civil Society, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Employment, Finance, Global Governance, Globalization, IMF, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Latin America, LICs, Low-income countries, Middle East, Multilateral Cooperation, Politics|

Lost & Found in Eastern Europe: Replacing Funding by Western Europe’s Banks

There is little doubt the era of generous funding from Western Europe's banks to their subsidiaries in the East is over, but this doens't have to translate into a reduction of bank credit in the emerging economies of Europe. The IMF's latest analysis shows an increase in local deposits in most countries of the region has offset the withdrawal of funding from Western Europe.

By IMFBlog| June 13th, 2012|Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Finance, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund|