Over the past twenty years, fiscal policy has become one of the three pillars of macroeconomic stability for Colombia, the other two being the flexible exchange rate and inflation targeting. The credibility and sustainability of fiscal policy is the result of strong institutions (in particular,...

The Ecuador public finance review (PFR) series responded to a request from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of public spending. The PFR series offers a combination of analysis, capacity building, and options for reform in selected...

Bulgaria has traditionally adhered to fiscal discipline and prudent fiscal policy since the introduction of its currency board arrangement in mid-1997. After a gradual decline in the 2000s, public debt has remained among the lowest in the European Union (EU), hovering in a narrow band between 17...

The Public Finance Review (PFR) analyzes Lebanon's public finances over a long horizon, to understand the roots of the fiscal profligacy and its eventual insolvency. To do so, the PFR links three critical elements in three Sections. Section I: Fiscal Policy in the Second Republic; Section II:...

The first three chapters of the PFR review the core fiscal policy and revenue mobilization issues. Chapter 1 discusses the fiscal landscape, fiscal framework, and progressivity of fiscal policy. Chapter 2 looks at the footprint of quasi-fiscal activities, which affects the overall fiscal stance...

This section of the Public Finance Review (PFR) assesses the level, quality, efficiency, and equity of public spending on education in North Macedonia and recommends policies that could increase efficiency as well as outcomes. It also examines the status of recent education reforms in the...

Since the global economic and financial crisis of 2008, Serbia has struggled with a weak economy and a deteriorating fiscal position. Until 2008, fiscal deficits were moderate and public debt declined significantly. Since the start of the global economic and financial crisis in 2008, however,...