Includes bibliographical references.

Overview / Dominique Desruelle and Alfred Schipke -- Growth performance / José Brambila Macías, Guy Meredith, and Ivanna Vladkova Hollar -- Pension reform / Kevin Fletcher and Alfred Schipke -- Assessing sovereign debt structures / André Faria and Guillermo Tolosa -- Financial sector development : public debt markets / Hemant Shah -- Characterizing monetary policy / Luis I. Jácome H. and Eric Parrado.

How to entrench hard-won gains, increase resilience to shocks, and improve growth performance to reduce poverty? As Central America moves forward in regaining macroeconomic stability, these are the challenges. This study analyzes Central America's real, fiscal, monetary, and financial sector policies at the regional level, starting with a review of growth performance and the macroeconomic implications of remittances. It then looks at the sustainability of pension systems, financial system development, sovereign debt vulnerabilities, and ways to sustain progress in reducing inflation by strengthening the credibility of central banks.--Publisher's description.

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