Republic of North Macedonia: Request for Purchase Under the Rapid Financing Instrument-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of North Macedonia
IMF Staff Country Reports, April 21, 2020
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- Republic of North Macedonia: Request for Purchase Under the Rapid Financing Instrument-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of North Macedonia
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Bibliographic details
- Published: April 21, 2020
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513541037.002
Economic outlook and shock assessment
- North Macedonia’s economic outlook has deteriorated substantially due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
- Real GDP is expected to decline by 4 percent in 2020 due to a fall in both domestic and external demand.
- Negative shocks to confidence and spill-overs from global financial channels have contributed to an urgent balance of payments need.
Balance of payments need and IMF instrument
- The paper highlights the Republic of North Macedonia’s Request for Purchase Under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).
- The economic deterioration and external shocks have created an urgent balance of payments need that motivated the RFI request.
Fiscal and social policy response by authorities
- Authorities quickly responded with targeted and temporary fiscal policy support to limit the social and economic impact of the health emergency.
- Policy measures aimed to:
- Protect the liquidity of companies.
- Preserve jobs.
- Provide social care for the jobless and vulnerable households.
Policy commitments and medium-term priorities
- The authorities have expressed strong commitment, once the COVID-19 crisis is over, to:
- Rebuilding fiscal buffers.
- Implementing the structural reform agenda to help preserve debt sustainability.
- Speeding up income convergence to European Union countries.
Subject coverage and keywords
- Subject: Banking, COVID-19, Currencies, External debt, Financial institutions, Health, Loans, Money, Public debt
- Keywords: balance of payments need., COVID-19, CR, Currencies, disbursement of SDR, financing, fiscal policy support, Global, ISCR, Loans, national bank of the Republic, policy advice, urgent balance of payments
Content in this bundle
- 1mkdea2020003