"Despite the popularity of the term among advocates of debt forgiveness, there is little agreement on a workable definition of "odious" debts and there are but few examples where the concept has been invoked in law to justify non-payment of sovereign debts. Most often, these have been cases when...

Improving debt transparency is critical for promoting debt sustainability and creditworthiness assessments, increasing the accuracy of public debt information, and protecting the interests of a diverse range of stakeholders. The importance of debt transparency, the costs associated with the lack...

This report assesses Montenegro's public and external debt sustainability under alternative scenarios. The baseline scenario assumes continued implementation of a macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform program, while the low case scenario describes the alternative of a sluggish growth...

This is the second of the series of Debt Reports for 2022 to be published online and provide users with data and analysis on external and public debt of low- and middle-income countries. Debt Report 2022 second edition presents preliminary estimates of external debt stocks at end-2021 for low-...

"This paper relaxes some key assumptions in the probabilistic approach to fiscal sustainability. First, the authors identify structural breaks over the sample period used to estimate the covariance matrix of the shocks to the debt ratios. Second, the assumption of normality of the shocks is...

"A resurgence of recent interest in fiscal federalism has been a source of concern among macroeconomic stabilization experts. They argue that a decentralized fiscal system poses a threat to macroeconomic stability as it is incompatible with prudent monetary and fiscal management. The author...

The report titled ‘contingent liabilities: the Colombian experience,’ is the first publication on the management of contingent liabilities in Colombia. Published by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (MHCP), the report highlights technical and normative efforts and policy reforms on...

This report concludes that during FY1993/94 to FY002/03 the fiscal policy implemented by the government of Dominica was unsustainable and posed a risk to the stability of the currency board arrangement. Moreover, this report recommends that most of the adjustment required to achieve a...

The report reviews Grenada public expenditures for the period 1995-02 and suggests policy recommendations to achieve fiscal sustainability, improve social service delivery, and reform social protection based on the economic situation of the country at the time. To restore rapid economic growth,...