This paper explores the impact of political and institutional variables on public investment. Working with a sample of 80 presidential and parliamentary democracies between 1975 and 2012, we find that the rate of growth of public investment is higher at the beginning of electoral cycles and...

Achieving France's medium-term fiscal targets will require significant expenditure efforts. This paper identifies areas where there is scope for increasing expenditure efficiency, with a view to achieving higher quality and more sustainable fiscal consolidation. The methodology is based on a...

This paper provides an empirical analysis of how the frequency and severity of terrorism affect government revenue and expenditure during the period 1970-2013 using a panel dataset on 153 countries. We find that terrorism has only a marginal negative effect on tax revenue performance, after...

The report analyzes the impact of the global financial crisis on public services delivery in education and healthcare. The analysis has been undertaken from the macro-perspective. Pre-crisis and crisis economic developments are outlined and fiscal accounts developments are presented. The...

How do policy communications on future f iscal targets af fect market expectations and beliefs about the future conduct of f iscal policy? In this paper, we develop indicators of f iscal credibility that quantify the degree to which policy announcements anchor expectations, based on the...

At the end of 1997 five transition countries - the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia - were invited to start negotiations on their accession to the EU. Three other countries - Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia - may still join the first group. Two other countries - Bulgaria...

At the end of 1997 five transition countries - the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia - were invited to start negotiations on their accession to the EU. Three other countries - Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia - may still join the first group. Two other countries - Bulgaria...

At the end of 1997 five transition countries - the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia - were invited to start negotiations on their accession to the EU. Three other countries - Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia - may still join the first group. Two other countries - Bulgaria...

Achieving gender equality remains a significant challenge, that has only deepened with the on-set of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender budgeting (GB) can help promote gender equality by applying a gender perspective to fiscal policies and the budget process. This paper takes stock of GB practices in...

Adoption of fiscal rules and fiscal councils continued to increase globally over the last decades based on two new global datasets. During the pandemic, fiscal frameworks were put to test. The widespread use of escape clauses was one of the novelties in this crisis, which helped provide policy...