Institutional research & analysis

Source: IMF

INSTITUTIONAL

BookApril 30, 2026

Taxation in the Middle East and North Africa: Prospects and Possibilities

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are varied in their political systems and geography—factors that have shaped their economic development and tax policy choices. This diversity means that taxation must be tailored to local factors and constraints. This book surveys income and consumption taxes in the MENA region’s 21 countries. For each tax, its revenue, efficiency, and equity characteristics are examined, and suggestions are made for potential avenues for reform. Th...

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Policy PaperApril 30, 2026

Diriyah Guiding Principles on IMF Quota and Governance Reforms

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Policy PaperApril 28, 2026

IMF-WBG Background Paper for G-7: Principles for Effective and Efficient Support for Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM)

Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM is central to achieving sustainable financing for development, building fiscal buffers, and strengthening state capacity. Recent work by the IMF and the World Bank shows that many countries—especially low-income countries (LICs) and fragile and conflict-affected states (FCSs)—are still collecting less than 15 percent of GDP in tax revenue. World Bank and IMF research suggests that collection beyond this threshold is linked to lasting improvements in growth,...

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Policy PaperApril 28, 2026

Statement by the Managing Director on the FY 2027 Work Program of the Executive Board

The war in the Middle East, in addition to its human toll, has triggered spillovers that represent another major test for the global economy. At the same time, profound transformations in technology, demographics, and the environment continue creating complex challenges but also opportunities. In this highly uncertain environment, supporting macroeconomic stability and resilience remains essential to support private sector led investment and growth. This requires addressing fiscal and debt ch...

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Working PaperApril 24, 2026

Bank Loans, Trade Credit and Export Prices: Evidence from Exchange Rate Shocks in China

This paper examines the impact of trade credit and bank loans on firms’ exchange rate passthrough. Using a comprehensive dataset combining customs transaction records and balance sheet data for Chinese exporters during 2000–2011, we document that firms that more intensively extend trade credit to their buyers exhibit more complete exchange rate pass-through. Further empirical investigation sheds light on the underlying mechanism. First, the use of trade credit is positively correlated with ex...

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ReportApril 24, 2026

Labor Productivity in Slovenia: What is the Role of Intangible Investments?

Slovenia’s labor productivity growth has slowed since the late 2000s, weakening the country’s prospects of catching up with more advanced EU members. In addition to the gap in business investment, the composition of investment is also important as intangible investments are increasingly driving productivity in knowledge-based economies. This paper examines the investment gap using the extended definition of intangible investments from the Corrado-Hulten-Sichel (2005) framework, and discusses ...

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ReportApril 24, 2026

Slovenia: Financial Challenges in the Health Sector

Healthcare and long-term care expenditures are projected to rise significantly in Slovenia over the medium and long term, primarily due to rapid population aging. This paper examines the financial challenges confronting the health sector—the increasing demand for healthcare and long-term care, alongside a financing system that has not yet adapted to this evolving context—and outlines reforms to enhance the sector’s long-term sustainability.

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Working PaperApril 24, 2026

Climate Finance and Adaptation Needs In Pacific Island Countries

Pacific Island Countries (PICs) face acute and rising climate adaptation needs due to high exposure to sea‑level rise, natural disasters, and structural vulnerabilities associated with small size and geographic remoteness. This paper develops a unified framework to produce the first region‑wide, internally consistent estimates of climate adaptation financing needs for PICs. A metadata analysis harmonizes country‑level assessments into comparable annual measures, while a complementary machine‑...

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ReportApril 23, 2026

Monetary and Fiscal Policy Linkages in the Czech Republic

This paper uses scenario analysis to illustrate the implications of persistently higher fiscal deficits for monetary policy in the Czech Republic. It distinguishes across different types of fiscal spending and monetary policy responses. The paper argues that coordinated action, explicitly accounting for the monetary policy response to a fiscal easing, can improve policy outcomes. The analysis is complemented by a historical perspective of fiscal and monetary policy interactions in the Czech R...

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ReportApril 23, 2026

Scenario Analysis for the Czech Republic: Using the Integrated Policy Framework (IPF)

This paper applies the IMF’s Integrated Policy Framework (IPF) to the Czech Republic with the aim of contributing to the use of scenario analysis at the Czech National Bank (CNB). The paper identifies some shallowness of FX markets as the main relevant friction under the IPF. Moreover, while inflation expectations are generally well anchored, they can nevertheless deviate from the inflation target for extended periods. Using an extended version of the QIPF model, the paper broadens the scope ...

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Policy PaperApril 23, 2026

Development Committee: The Managing Director's Written Statement

The world faces the spillovers from the war in the Middle East. In addition to the human toll, its economic effects are global and uneven, once again hitting the poorest and most vulnerable countries the hardest. This comes at a time when policy space has been eroded and geopolitical tensions have been increasing. Spillovers to Low-Income Developing Countries (LIDCs) will transmit through supply disruptions, higher commodity prices, second-round effects on inflation and expectations, tighter ...

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ReportApril 23, 2026

Housing Affordability in the Czech Republic: Drivers, Dynamics, and Policy Option

Worsening housing affordability in the Czech Republic reflects a structural imbalance between supply and demand, where income-driven demand has persistently outpaced construction capacity constrained by slow permitting processes and municipal fragmentation. Using a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) framework, this paper quantifies the contributions of demand, supply, and monetary shocks to movements in Czech house prices. The findings show that while monetary policy can moderate cyclica...

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