"In many developing countries, achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 will require significant increases in expenditures on social services and in foreign assistance. It will also require careful planning of the sector allocation and sequencing of public spending. Especially...

El Salvador's development over the past decade has been dichotomous. On the one hand, economic growth has remained persistently low, employment and labor force participation have barely increased, and progress on poverty reduction has slowed. On the other hand, inequality has fallen, and shared...

Honduras has experienced moderate economic growth in the past decade, in line with the rest of the region. Despite this growth track record, limited opportunities for decent jobs for the majority of workers have resulted in stagnant poverty and inequality rates that are still the highest in...

The Russia Social Expenditure Review (SER) has been undertaken by the human development team in the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank at the request of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. This Report presents the key findings of the Russia SER work. The key...

This report aims to provide technical assistance to the Government of Lithuania in preparation for the June 2009 budget amendment and beyond. This Public Expenditure Review (PER) includes a number of recommendations on short run fiscal consolidation (mainly through spending cuts) as well as...

The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has an ambitious long-term vision for the nation and its people, operationalized through the national development plans. A rapid increase in public spending financed through borrowing, due to lack of a concomitant increase in public revenue, meant a...

After more than a decade of strong growth, interrupted only by the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, Belarus' economy has encountered major headwinds. Since 2012, growth has stalled, macroeconomic imbalances have intensified, and public finances have deteriorated. Unlike regional peers, the...

This Public Expenditure Review (PER) features the expenditure requirements confronting the government which are enormous; and, the expenditure requirements confronting Ethiopia which are compounded by rapid population growth. The expenditure consequences are significant, because social programs...

The evolution of Costa Rica's social sectors over the past decade has been dichotomous. On the one hand, economic growth has remained relatively high, however poverty and inequality have not declined (moreover, they have increased), and persistent employment challenges remain. On the other hand,...