Dominican Republic: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report

This 2022 Article IV Consultation discusses that the Dominican Republic’s dynamic economy continued to show remarkable resilience to shocks, rebounding strongly from the impact of the pandemic. The recovery has been broad based; gross domestic product was about 5 percent above pre-pandemic levels as of end-2021. The country maintained sound market access and benefitted from IMF support through the Rapid Financing Instrument. A frontloaded fiscal consolidation tailored policies to the evolving impact of the pandemic—phasing out support as employment recovered and devoting efforts to the reopening—and allowed a significant reduction in public debt. Discussions focused on the ongoing normalization of monetary policy, the fiscal response to global shocks amid efforts to secure fiscal sustainability, and the exit strategy from financial sector pandemic support. These reforms—supported by IMF capacity development—can foster growth and signal strong commitment to sustainable policies. Sound sequencing in the reform agenda can build consensus for revenue mobilization going forward.