This Selected Issues paper on Iran focuses on the Targeted Subsidy Reform Law (TSRL). This is the basic law governing the implementation of the subsidy reform in Iran. The TSRL envisaged bringing subsidized prices close to international levels over a five-year period. The paper reviews the implementation of the first phase of the subsidy reform, with a particular emphasis on macroeconomic management. The sharp depreciation of the exchange rate and high inflation significantly undermined progress under the reform. High inflation partially reversed the relative price change under the reform.

A union list of serials commencing publication after Dec. 31, 1949.

This Financial System Stability Assessment on France reviews the institutional and regulatory framework. Consolidation among financial institutions has resulted in six large universal, vertically integrated banking groups having a strong position in the domestic market. Bank profitability has improved markedly over the past decade and is in line with average euro area levels. Systemic vulnerabilities in the important insurance sector are well contained. The government debt market is large, and the corporate debt market has been growing rapidly since the introduction of the euro.

This book, edited by J.B. Zulu, Ian S. McCarthy, Susana Almuiña, and Gabriel Sensenbrenner, presents the proceedings of the special Joint Meetings on Central Banking Technical Assistance held in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1994, and provides detailed information on important issues in central banking, including a comparative sample of 31 countries. The arrangements concerning such issues as the size and composition of the policymaking board, the role of the central bank in monetary and exchange rate policy, resolution of conflict between the central bank and the government, public accountability, relations with the markets, and credit to the government are reviewed.