Summary for non-specialists

This volume collects the proceedings of a conference on the recent Latvian experience of a deep Balance-of-Payments crisis. It first studies the accumulation of external and internal imbalances that eventually led to the financial and economic crisis. The second part investigates the economic and social impact of the measures agreed during the programme negotiations while the third describes the political dynamics associated with the bargaining and implementation of the programme. Latvia overcame impressive challenges to rebalance its economy and set it back on a sustainable path but challenges remain. This volume aims to provide a fair account of the magnitude of the problems and boldness of the solutions, possibly providing valuable guidance for future action in difficult times.