In this paper we review the linkages between the quality of public finances, that is, the level and composition of public expenditure and its financing via revenue and deficits, and economic growth. We review the various channels through which public finances affect growth and its underlying...

Mining resources have played an important role in the economy of Zambia. The country faces serious development challenges. This Working Paper investigates to which extent the mining of natural resources has facilitated public action regarding these challenges or whether, on the contrary, mining...

This Technical Assistance Report discusses continued modernization of the Malian tax system and administration of natural resources. The Malian mining sector essentially consists of gold mining. The diversification policy is a failure at this point. The authorities' stated objective of...

In all countries that use the individual as the basic unit of taxation, tax policy makers must contend with the problem of spousal income splitting and the dilemma it poses for gender equality. On the one hand income splitting opens a back door to joint taxation of couples, with its troubling...

Recently, we evaluated a fiscal consolidation strategy for the United States that would bring the government budget into balance by gradually reducing government spending relative to GDP to the ratio that prevailed prior to the crisis (Cogan et al, JEDC 2013). Specifically, we published an...

The short note on the 2019 President's Budget attempts to assess the proposed shift from obligation-based to cash-based budgeting and its implications on the 2019 proposed national budget. In the process, it aims to inform policy deliberations on Senate Bill 1761 (formerly Senate Bill 1450),...