Regional Economic Outlook
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May 2017
April 2017
November 2016
Regional Economic Issues (REI): Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe: Effective Government for Stronger Growth, November 2016
November 1, 2016
Description: Economic growth remains solid in much of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE). Outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), growth has continued at a good pace on the back of accommodative macroeconomic policies as well as buoyant consumption supported by strong real wage and employment growth. In Russia, the pace of economic contraction has moderated, as the economy appears to have adjusted to lower oil prices and the sanctions shock. Other CIS economies are gradually exiting from recessions on improved external demand. For the region as a whole, GDP growth is projected to reach 1.3 percent in 2016 and 2.1 percent in 2017, largely reflecting the improved outlook in the CIS.
October 2016
Middle East and Central Asia
October 31, 2016
IMF Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, October 2016
October 25, 2016
Description: These reports discuss recent economic developments and prospects for countries in various regions. They also address economic policy developments that have affected economic performance in the regions, and discuss key challenges faced by policymakers. They address regional policy developments and challenges, and provide country-specific data and analysis, including through analytical pieces on issues of interest to a particular region.
Regional Economic Outlook (REO) Update: Western Hemisphere - Latin America and the Caribbean: Are Chills Here to Stay?, October 2016
October 7, 2016
Description: Economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to bottom out in 2016, before making a modest recovery next year. While weak external demand and persistently low commodity prices continue to weigh on the regional outlook, domestic developments have been the key driver of growth outcomes in some stressed economies. GDP is expected to contract by 0.6 percent in 2016 before recovering to 1.6 percent growth in 2017. Recurrent growth disappointments point to lower potential growth, underscoring the need for structural reforms to boost productive capacity, but these will take time to bear fruit. Exchange rate flexibility has served the region well and, with shifting global trends, should continue to serve as the first line of defense against adverse shocks. In many cases, the need for a contractionary monetary policy stance is no longer evident, with inflation and inflation expectations returning to target levels. With risks still on the downside, countries should use the improved global financial environment to rebuild their fiscal buffers while preserving critical capital expenditures and social outlays. Uncertainty concerning the duration of easy global financial conditions poses risks for the region, while financial and corporate sector vulnerabilities bear closer monitoring.
May 2016
Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific, April 2016: Building on Asia's Strengths During Turbulent Times
May 3, 2016
April 2016
Regional Economic Outlook (REO): Western Hemisphere - Managing Transitions and Risks, April 2016
April 27, 2016
Description: With the global economy still struggling, many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are facing a harsher world than they did just a few years ago. The growth outlook is weaker in advanced and emerging economies alike, while the gradual slowdown and rebalancing of economic activity in China is likely to keep commodity prices lower for longer. Meanwhile, favorable external financial conditions over the past several years have become more volatile, and risks of a sudden tightening are on the rise. Against this backdrop, economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean has been revised downward, compared with our January update and is likely to contract for a second consecutive year in 2016. But the growth outlook varies substantially within the region. While external conditions have placed a large drag on all commodity exporters, countries expected to post negative growth will do so mainly because of domestic imbalances and rigidities at home, and, in certain cases, temporary impact of policies designed to transition away from earlier distortions. But the news isn't all bad. In the rest of the region—and particularly where policy frameworks have been strengthened over the past two decades—a relatively smooth adjustment continues. Given these broad contours, growth stories vary between the south and north.
IMF Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia, April 2016
April 25, 2016
Description: These reports discuss recent economic developments and prospects for countries in various regions. They also address economic policy developments that have affected economic performance in the regions, and discuss key challenges faced by policymakers. They address regional policy developments and challenges, and provide country-specific data and analysis, including through analytical pieces on issues of interest to a particular region.