This report discusses fiscal trends in policies aimed at reducing fiscal vulnerabilities and boosting medium-term growth, recent fiscal developments and the fiscal outlook in advanced economies, emerging markets, and low-income developing countries; recent trends in government debt and analysis...

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Definitions -- Abbreviations -- Highlights -- 1 REGIONAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK AND DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES -- Economic Outlook and Risks -- Development Challenges: Vulnerabilities to Economic, Environmental, and Social Shocks --...

Persistently high debt ratios in advanced economies and emerging fragilities in the developing world cast clouds on the global fiscal landscape. In advanced economies, with narrowing budget deficits, the average public debt ratio is expected to stabilize in 2013–14—but it will be at a...

Continued progress in reducing advanced economy deficits and a gradually improving external environment have lowered short-term fiscal risks, according to this issue, but global prospects nevertheless remain subdued, and many advanced economies face a lengthy, difficult, and uncertain path to...

Over the last two decades, many governments have sought to take stock of the burden generally imposed by their regulations, especially in relation to taxes imposed on businesses, and to identify and adopt measures to reduce the costs of complying with such regulations. In many countries, the VAT...