General government deficit is defined as the balance of income and expenditure of government, including capital income and capital expenditures. "Net lending" means that government has a surplus, and is providing financial resources to other sectors, while "net borrowing" means that government...

At a time when public expenditure is undergoing change to accommodate new needs, this report studies the impact of four institutions of the budget process upon re-allocation: medium-term expenditure frameworks, rules of budgetary discipline, the Minister of finance, and programme review. It...

This volume discusses progress made to date in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico in putting their finances in order and points out the challenges ahead. It provides an overview of trends and highlights the diversity of fiscal adjustment processes in Latin American countries. It also describes...

Despite considerable progress made by Latin America's biggest economies in putting their finances in order, numerous challenges remain.  Public spending needs to incorporate more flexibility, ageing populations and social demands threaten future pressures on expenditure, and social and...