We study the effects of electoral institutions on the size and composition of public expenditure in OECD and Latin American countries. We present a model emphasizing the distinction between purchases of goods and services, which are easier to target geographically, and transfers, which are...

In Kenya, the general government is not defined consistently with government finance statistics (GFS) principles. Relationships between the central government and public nonfinancial and financial corporations are generally clearly defined. Government holdings of fully owned corporations and...

This report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Fiscal Transparency on Costa Rica analyzes open budget preparation and assurances of integrity. A number of initiatives currently under way would further advance fiscal transparency. A clearer division of responsibilities for monetary and...

This report provides an assessment of fiscal transparency practices in El Salvador. Many of the code standards are followed by the country. In addition, fiscal data dissemination and monthly updating will be improved with the recent incorporation of the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal...

This paper examines the consideration of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe’s debt relief at the completion point under the enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Debt Relief under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. Lower-than-projected export...

This paper presents Portugal’s third review under the extended arrangement and request for waiver of applicability of end-March performance criteria. The government has initiated labor market reforms, privatizations, telecom sector liberalization, and improved competition framework....

This paper describes the institutional changes that have induced a decline in the vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI) - defined as the share of sub-national own spending not financed through own revenues - in four European countries: Belgium, Italy, Norway, and Spain. The decline in VFI was achieved...

This report assesses the Observance of Standards and Codes on Fiscal Transparency for Moldova. Moldova has made progress in recent years in improving fiscal transparency, and meets the Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency in some areas. However, shortcomings remain in several areas, and...

This paper presents, for the first time, multi-dimensional indices of the quality of budget institutions in low-income countries. The indices allow for benchmarking against the performance of middle-income countries, across regions, and according to different institutional arrangements that...

Fiscal decentralization is likely to entail a bias in the budget process toward higher public expenses and deficits. The paper reviews lessons drawn from the theoretical literature and international experience on the design of intergovernmental relations. The institutional setup should address...