This paper presents a framework for evaluating the level and composition of public expenditures, illustrated by sectoral and country examples.

This World Bank Discussion Paper brings together two contributions on external debt issues. The first paper discusses the insurability of sovereign debt against default. The second paper reviews numerous studies that have been conducted over the years to identify the variables that could predict...

A systematic diagnosis of a revenue administration is a prerequisite to developing a successful strategy for its reform. However, given the complexity of tax and customs administration, this is not a simple task. A host of external and internal factors need to be analyzed to uncover the roots of...

This study examines the role of subsidies in explaining the obvious and injurious mismatch between fishing effort and biological production capacity. It uses the definitions and methodology of the WTO on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures of 1994 in defining the nature and size of subsidies...

Program-based approaches to providing development assistance, especially sector investment programs (SIPs), are receiving increased attention as donors and recipient countries search for effective instruments to foster sustainable development. A SIP is a long-term national program covering...

Outlines Tunisia' innovative strategy of reducing the budgetary costs of food subsidies in a manner that is politically acceptable and that protects the nutritional status of the poor. The government uses "self-targeted programs," whereby subsidies are shifted to items consumed primarily by...