Last Updated: April 16, 2008
Development, Trade & Aid
Street market in Jaisalmer, India. (photo: Blaine Harrington III/Corbis)
Low-income countries are experiencing their highest growth rates in decades, but the slowing of the global economy and higher world oil prices could threaten the outlook in some countries. The IMF is also warning that higher food prices could undermine efforts to cut poverty if nothing is done to help countries deal with the price spikes.
Country News and Analysis
Ministers Resolve to Counter Slowdown, Combat Food Hikes
Food Price Rises Threaten Efforts to Cut Poverty—Strauss-Kahn
Africa Seeing Rewards of Better Policies
March 20, 2008
Interview with Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané, departing Director of the IMF's African Department. 
IMF to Back Liberia With Debt Relief, New Financing
Haiti gets US$12.2 Million program 
March 4, 2008
Policy advice, technical assistance at heart of IMF support for Africa
Tackling Burkina Faso's Cotton Crisis
Nigeria Needs Sustained Reforms to Build on Success
IMF Helps Ghana Learn From Others on Inflation Targets
Debt Relief Yields Results in Niger
More Investors Turn to Sub-Saharan Africa
Global Governance
December 2007
"Finance and Development", the IMF's quarterly magazine, focuses an issue on global governance. 
Budget Reform Holds Promise in Mozambique
IMF Regional Economic Outlook for Africa
October 2007
Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to hit 6.7 percent in 2008. 
Spotlight
Coping with Food Price Increases in Sub-Saharan Africa
March 20, 2008
African countries face difficult policy choices as rising inflationary pressures cause food prices to spike. 
Frequently asked questions on low-income countries and high food prices 
Regional Economic Outlook for Africa
April 12, 2008
Higher oil, food prices raise challenge of maintaining macroeconomic stability. 
Progress Toward MDGs Off Track, Report Says
April 8, 2008
A new World Bank-IMF report warns that most countries will fall short on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 
Research and Publications
Can Africa Make Trade an Engine for Growth?
March 11, 2008
An IMF book analyzes the trade patterns emerging in sub-Saharan Africa and assesses their implications for policy. 
High and Volatile Treasury Yields in Tanzania
March 1, 2008
IMF Working Paper 
Southern Africa: Adapting to Shocks
February 21, 2008
Article on IMF Working Paper 
Terms of Trade Shocks and Economic Recovery
February 1, 2008
IMF Working Paper 
Where Did All the Aid Go? An Empirical Analysis of Absorption and Spending
February 1, 2008
IMF Working Paper 
Food and Biofuels: The Price of Success
Book Forum with Dani Rodrik
November 29, 2007
The Harvard University professor previewed his latest book: One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions, and Economic Growth 
Helping Postconflict Nations Rebuild
November 26, 2007
Three new books (by IMF staff and others) discuss how technical assistance by international institutions has helped postconflict countries. 
Technology Widening Rich-Poor Gap
October 10, 2007
IMF Research 
Fiscal Management of Scaled-Up Aid
September 1, 2007
IMF Working Paper 
Stock Market Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Critical Issues and Challenges
August 1, 2007
IMF Working Paper 
