The International Monetary Fund, IMF has said that Bahrain needs to have a fresh look at its subsidies and curb its spending pattern. It has called upon Bahrain Government to retarget is subsidies to lower income families while controlling other spending commitments to stabilize debt levels. The subsidy system has been in place since the 1980s, when the population was half of its present 1.3million, out of which more than half are expatriates.The latest review report by the fund has described Bahrain's economic performance in 2013 as moderate. An IMF mission to the kingdom also pointed out that Bahrain's state budget deficit is expected to rise in the medium term.