Definitions of Government in IMF-Supported Programs

The data referred to in the context of fiscal policy in general, or IMF-supported programs in particular, can reflect different meanings of the term government. What definition of government underlies such indicators as public debt, measures of revenue or expense, and government deficit? For example, do we mean by government just the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of the national government? Or, are we referring to all entities covered by the general budget of the national government? How about state and local governments? And what about other entities owned by the government, such as nonfinancial corporations (e.g., a utility company) or financial corporations (e.g., a development bank)? In the context of an IMF-supported program, which includes quantitative fiscal targets, the underlying definitions of government should be clearly spelled out. In this paper, we examine whether this has been the case in the recent past, and how best to address this issue in the future