Policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) often complain that poor fiscal performance in their countries is a result of a high degree of spending rigidity. Despite being a common complaint, the issue has remained largely ignored by the literature because of the lack of adequate...

This Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) performance assessment report evaluates the seven core pillars of the public financial management (PFM) system of the Government of the Philippines (Government) as set out in the summary assessment below. It evaluates how effectively...

Performance based budgeting (PBB) has been a popular reform among ministries of finance across the world, accompanied by high expectations for its ability to transform national budget processes. PBB offers the hope of a more evidence-based rationale for making budget decisions across an array of...

What is the real character of fiscal policy? Is it expansionary or restrictive? Is it pro-cyclical or does it have stabilization effects? Policymakers and economic analysts need to be able to ascertain fiscal policy effort. As the actual budget balances are affected both by cyclical factors and...