Macroeconomic Diagnostics (MDS)

Source details

Officials from central banks and ministries of finance or economy who are directly involved in diagnosing the state of the macroeconomy and making projections.

Expected qualifications:
- Advanced degree in economics or equivalent experience.
- Good quantitative skills.
- Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Excel.
Strong recommendation:
- Applicants are strongly recommended to have completed the online Financial Programming and Policies, Part 1: Macroeconomic Accounts and Analysis (FPP.1 x) or the online Macroeconomic Diagnostics (MDSx) course.

Presented by the Institute for Capacity Development.
Designed to strengthen participants’ ability to comprehensively assess a country’s macroeconomic situation, including:
- The current state of the economy.
- The stance of fiscal and monetary policy.
- Financial stability.
- Exchange rate misalignments.
- Vulnerabilities in different sectors.
- The medium-term outlook, especially the sustainability of public and external debt.
Emphasis on practical tools for day-to-day macroeconomic analysis.
Reliance on case studies relevant to the region where the course is given to illustrate application of tools and contribution to the policymaking process.

Analyze potential output, calculate output gaps, and diagnose the outlook for the economy.
Assess the stance of current fiscal, monetary, exchange rate, and financial policies.
Assess macro-financial linkages, including through the analysis of financial sector soundness indicators.
Assess the medium-term prospects of the economy, especially the sustainability of public and external debt.
Identify possible external and internal economic risks and vulnerabilities to economic growth, and develop policies to address them.

IMF offers online training to government officials and the public; interested audiences can consult IMF training offerings for current courses.