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Books and Analytical Papers > IMF Staff Country Reports

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
People’s Republic of China: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept
Selected Issues
Keywords:
service sector productivity; B. deflation vulnerability index; outward FDI; inflation expectation; emissions trading system; Foreign direct investment; Services sector; Total factor productivity; Inflation; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Cook Islands: Technical Assistance Report-International Financial Services Industry
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept
This technical assistance mission report underlines efforts to estimate the economic and revenue contributions of the international financial services industry in the Cook Islands. This report discusses the data and methodology used and presents the results. One matter that has been raised is that international companies are exempt from all taxes in the Cook Islands. The economic contribution of the international financial services industry can be measured by the value added of resident institutional units engaged, directly or indirectly, in the production of international financial services in the Cook Islands. The production of international financial services generates income which is distributed to the various agents or groups of agents who use that income to acquire goods and services for consumption now or later. The international financial services industry also contributes indirectly to gross domestic product through two channels. The first channel is through the goods and services that the industry purchases from other suppliers, such as electricity, accounting services, telecommunications, etc.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; trustee company; financial services service industry; income tax; taxable income; GDP contribution; Cook Islands trustee companies use; Services sector; Value-added tax; Wages; Income tax systems; Australia and New Zealand; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
France: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper analyzes France’s fiscal stance using a structural stochastic model. The theoretical model features a forward-looking benevolent government that needs to decide the optimal fiscal stance given the level of public debt, the cyclical position of the economy, and expectations about future shocks. This paper shows that a fiscal consolidation can help build buffers that could help France confront the next downturn from a stronger fiscal position. The analysis highlights that, on average, fiscal policy in France exhibited a deficit bias over the past four decades, being unable to react to either rising debt levels, or cyclical conditions. A model-based analysis further confirms that fiscal policy was generally looser than warranted by cyclical and debt sustainability considerations, and this is only partly due to the fact policymakers need to take decisions based on real-time output gap measures that are subject to uncertainty.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; regulation; deficit; fiscal policy stance; France; service market regulation; national fiscal policy; countercyclical fiscal policy response; voting right; Fiscal stance; Fiscal consolidation; Output gap; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Qatar: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Selected Issues paper analyzes the performance and vulnerabilities of Qatar’s nonfinancial corporate (NFC) sector. Qatar’s NFC sector is sizable in terms of the overall share of economic activity. The total turnover of these companies was US$ 28 billion in 2016. Assets of listed and non-listed NFCs in Qatar were estimated at about 115 percent of non-hydrocarbon GDP in 2016. Although profitability of Qatari corporates, as measured by Return on Equity and Return on Assets, has declined, it is still high. Qatari companies remain resilient in the face of moderate to severe interest and earnings shocks, as median Interest Coverage Ratio of Qatari firms remains well above 1. The impact of these shocks on debt-at-risk and firms-at-risk is also limited.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; private sector; earnings; credit growth; bank; NFC assets; earnings shock; IMF staff calculation; Qatari NFC sector; equity price; Qatar's Interest Coverage Ratio; Nonperforming loans; Oil prices; Credit; Stress testing; Commercial banks
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Malta: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper examines the vulnerability of firms in Malta and investigates the effect of their balance sheets on investment in innovation. The results indicate that, while the financial health of medium and large firms has improved in recent years, vulnerabilities remain in the construction sector and for small and medium enterprises. Firms with weaker balance sheets tend to invest less in innovation, even during good times. Policy implications call for (1) accelerating the restructuring of corporate balance sheets of highly leveraged but viable firms, (2) improving the insolvency framework to allow a fast exit of nonviable companies, and (3) expanding corporate funding options for small and medium enterprises, including via nonbank financing alternatives.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; firm; price; financial condition; constructed FCI; FCI component; investment response; Intra-company debt; house price misalignment; Housing prices; Mortgages; Financial statements; Services sector; Financial conditions index; Global; Southern Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
France: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
The paper identifies France’s structural reforms that would yield the largest competitiveness gains based on macro-empirical evidence, and reviews signs of potential gains from a deregulation of the services sector. It is expected that completing deregulation in the services sector would benefit the entire French economy, by boosting productivity and exports. Econometric results have estimated the impact of reducing the labor taxation and labor market rigidities and of increasing innovation to the average level of other advanced countries.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; bank; France; IMF WEO; merchandise export; IMF staff calculation; services deregulation; fiscal consolidation; Export performance; Services sector; Productivity; Foreign banks; Exports; Global; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Philippines: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund
This Selected Issues paper highlights the Philippine growth performance led by the services sector. Average GDP growth is higher in the post-Asian crisis period in the Philippines, while the majority of the Philippines’s regional peers have experienced substantially lower growth in the post-Asian crisis period compared with the pre-crisis period. Trade and transport, storage, and communications services have been growth drivers while private and financial services have started to add new momentum. Various transfer programs are identified that would be much better targeted than across-the-board energy tax cuts.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; bank; spending; Philippines; lending; investment ratio; service sector share; BPO industry; balance sheet variable; bank asset quality; role balance sheet problem; consumption-investment decision; Personal income; Value-added tax; Services sector; Financial statements; Bank credit; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Portugal: Staff Report for the 2005 Article IV Consultation
International Monetary Fund
The staff report for the 2005 Article IV Consultation on Portugal highlights economic developments and outlook. Private consumption has proven resilient, reflecting low interest rates and lengthening tenors on bank lending, while investment and export growth remained weak. Executive Directors concurred that in an unfavorable context marked by large fiscal and external imbalances, slow growth, and a weak competitive position, the challenge confronting the Portuguese government is to create the conditions to restart Portugal’s per capita income convergence toward the euro area average as soon as possible.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; staff appraisal; Industial production; unprocessed food product; GDP; consumer confidence; short-term indicator; Socialist party; IMF staff representative; Fiscal stance; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Korea: Staff Report for the 2004 Article IV Consultation
International Monetary Fund
This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that from 1999 to 2002, Korea’s economy grew rapidly, by an average of 7¼ percent per year. But starting in 2003, the economy has begun to sputter. Growth suddenly stopped in the first half of the year, leapt ahead in the second half as exports boomed, but then slowed again to an anemic 2¾ percent annualized rate during January–September 2004 as exports decelerated. The authorities have been countering this slowdown by easing macroeconomic policies. The fiscal policy stance has been shifted from neutral to mildly expansionary.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; service industry output; staff appraisal; report; key interest rate; IMF staff representative; stimulative fiscal policy; recent data; Credit; Loans; Income; Credit bureaus; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Finland: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund
Finland has undergone a fundamental structural shift from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy. The productivity surge in the dynamic information and communications technology sector fueled a strong export-driven recovery. However, the optimism of the past year has dissipated, as the global slowdown takes its toll especially on the high-tech sector, including international market leaders such as Nokia. This paper assesses the services sector and its potential for employment creation, in particular in the area of personal services and other services with low skill requirements.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Finland; employment share; income; Nokia; ICT sector; replacement income; labor market; services group; Information technology in revenue administration; Employment; Services sector; Labor markets; Personal income; Global; Europe