This paper examines the role of financial development and financial structure in explaining cross-country diffusion of information communication technology (ICT). Using panel data for 76 emerging and advanced countries for the period 1990-2003, the paper finds that credit and stock market development tends to foster ICT development. Financial structure, however, do...

Increases in core inflation owing to the VAT hike were smaller than expected, initially constituting a puzzle and leading to speculation about delayed increases or competitive pressures. Given Germany’s large size and openness, spillover interactions appear to have increased over time. In the midst of a strong recovery, Germany is facing shortages of labor, the emi...

This Data Module of the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) provides an assessment of Azerbaijan’s macroeconomic statistics against the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) complemented by an assessment of data quality based on the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF), July 2003. The assessment reveals that Azerbaijan’s Consumer P...