Republic of Slovenia: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of Slovenia
Republic of Slovenia: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of Slovenia

Author: International Monetary

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-05-25

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13: 1513573004

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The pandemic is inflicting much suffering, which has been met with swift, substantial, and well-coordinated policy responses. The anti-crisis measures have helped preserve jobs, provide liquidity to companies and income support to the vulnerable groups. They averted a larger decline in output and kept unemployment under control. After contracting by 5.5 percent in 2020, real GDP is projected to grow by 3.9 percent in 2021 and 4.5 percent in 2022, as vaccinations help achieve herd immunity. However, risks to the outlook are large and tilted to the downside, given the epidemiological situation.

Italy: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Italy
Italy: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Italy

Author: International Monetary

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-06-02

Total Pages: 83

ISBN-13: 151357308X

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The pandemic dealt a severe blow to the Italian people and their economy. GDP fell by nearly 9 percent in 2020, with much larger drops for contact-intensive services. Public and corporate debt increased strongly and preexisting vulnerabilities have likely worsened. The government is prioritizing resolving the health emergency and transforming the economy to lift productivity, improve social outcomes and strengthen resilience to future shocks and structural change. The large National Recovery and Resilience Plan—partly financed by sizable Next Generation EU resources—will be used to increase physical and social infrastructure. Outlook. GDP is expected to recover strongly in 2021–22 and to grow well-above trend over the medium term, supported by investment spending. Nonetheless, economic scarring could be sizable. The two-sided risks relate to how the pandemic progresses, the efficiency of investment spending and the extent of savings drawdown, with large costs associated with the downside.

Republic of San Marino: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of San Marino
Republic of San Marino: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of San Marino

Author: International Monetary

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-11-23

Total Pages: 70

ISBN-13: 1513598449

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San Marino entered the pandemic with substantial vulnerabilities and still struggling from the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). However, the economy has shown significant resilience supported by a timely and targeted policy response. Fiscal support was substantially scaled up after external borrowing was secured, including through a debut Eurobond. The banking system was rationalized, partly capitalized, its liquidity substantially improved, and a strategy is being adopted to address exceptionally high nonperforming loans (NPLs). Some of these measures, while effective, have increased official public debt substantially.

Germany: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Germany
Germany: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Germany

Author: International Monetary

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-07-15

Total Pages: 78

ISBN-13: 1513594435

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Germany’s economy contracted by just under 5 percent in 2020, outperforming most European peers. But renewed waves of infections and associated lockdowns caused economic activity to plunge again in the first quarter of this year. While the pace of mass vaccination has picked up and the economy has started to reopen, the recovery path is beset with risks, particularly with respect to the progress of the pandemic and supply shortages in major industries. The authorities have maintained appropriately accommodative fiscal and financial policies, and most measures supporting households and firms have been extended through 2021.

Albania: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Albania
Albania: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Albania

Author: International Monetary Fund. European Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-12-07

Total Pages: 86

ISBN-13: 1616356855

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Albania’s economy has shown considerable resilience in the face of the 2019 earthquake and the pandemic. After the hardship endured in 2020, real GDP is rebounding strongly by a projected 7.8 percent in 2021. Policies have played a critical role in preserving lives and livelihoods and thereby paving the way for the recovery. The key challenges now are to invest efficiently in people and the economy to support the continued development of the country and to rebuild room for fiscal policy maneuver by lowering the very high fiscal deficit and public debt.

Spain: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Spain
Spain: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Spain

Author: International Monetary

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2022-02-16

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13:

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The Spanish economy is recovering from the deep recession caused by the COVID pandemic and employment is already above its pre-pandemic level. A highly successful vaccination campaign helped limit the impact of the recent wave of infections on hospitalizations and economic activity. Output is expected to return to its pre-pandemic level by the end of 2022. However, there is significant uncertainty around the recovery path related to the evolution of the pandemic and the duration of global supply bottlenecks. The pace of absorption and the effectiveness of use of Next Generation EU (NGEU) funds will also affect growth in the coming years. In the near term, the key policy challenge is to continue to provide targeted pandemic support while facilitating resource reallocation and a transformation to a greener and more inclusive economy.

Luxembourg: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Luxembourg
Luxembourg: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Luxembourg

Author: International Monetary

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-05-25

Total Pages: 79

ISBN-13: 1513572997

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The economic impact of the pandemic has been much milder than initially foreseen, still the outlook remains challenging. The economy, dominated by financial services, adapted quickly to telework and benefited from unprecedented policy support, both domestically and globally. Uncertainty is unusually high, dominated by the virus dynamics in the short term, with downside risks relating to a sharp rise in global risk premia, deglobalization trends, and changes in international taxation.

Italy
Italy

Author: International Monetary Fund. European Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2022-08

Total Pages: 103

ISBN-13:

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GDP has fully recovered from the pandemic crisis, but government debt has risen to very high levels. The war in Ukraine triggered a surge in energy prices and the prospect of monetary policy tightening caused government bond yields to rise sharply. Implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which provides large EU grants and loans conditioned on implementing a comprehensive reform and investment program, is underway.

Italy
Italy

Author: International Monetary Fund. European Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2019-02-06

Total Pages: 71

ISBN-13: 1484397711

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This 2018 Article IV Consultation highlights that Italy has been struggling with low economic growth and poor social outcomes and structural weaknesses have been at the core of this economic underperformance. Growth is projected to slow further, and the risk of recession has risen. The extent to which risks materialize depends largely on Italy’s policies. The authorities felt strongly that a fiscal stimulus is needed to promote economic growth and improve social outcomes. The authorities are also seeking to reduce temporary employment and support job search. The report suggests that faster potential growth is the only durable way for Italy to improve outcomes and enhance resilience. A package of structural reforms, a credible fiscal consolidation based on growth-friendly and inclusive measures, and bank balance sheet strengthening structural reforms, fiscal policy, and financial stability are also recommended. As by facilitating re-alignment of wages with productivity at the firm and regional levels, Italy’s high structural unemployment would fall, as would the continued heavy resort to temporary employment.

United States: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the United States
United States: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the United States

Author: International Monetary

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-07-22

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13: 1513591819

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The new administration’s policies have put the U.S. economy on a strong footing. An effective vaccine rollout has put the number of new COVID-19 cases on a firmly downward path. At the same time, unprecedented fiscal support is quickly restoring the economy back to full employment and generating positive outward spillovers to the world economy. These efforts have not been costless: the path for public debt is far higher; the current account deficit has grown; and very accommodative financial conditions have led to increased corporate and nonbank leverage and rising valuations across a range of assets. The pandemic continues to weigh heavily on those at the lower end of the income distribution, exposing longstanding inequities in access to quality healthcare and education (many of which have an important gender and racial dimension).