This note will examine the distributional and efficiency issues associated with the fiscal response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis in Da Nang city and nationally in Vietnam. More specifically, we look at the social assistance (cash transfer) programs. Did these programs efficiently reach...

The national economy of Vietnam was affected by the April 2020 lockdown meant to contain the domestic spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) virus and subsequent outbreaks in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Nevertheless, the economy showed exceptional resilience. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by...

This note analyzes the short-term effects of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) shock during the first year of the crisis and presents alternative medium-term recovery scenarios. It asks a set of questions, and in answering those questions, provides policy suggestions for the Vietnamese...

The Auxilio Emergencial (AE) was one of the most agile, robust, and extensive social protection programs implemented by developing countries. Having reached up to 55.6 percent of the population, considering both direct and indirect beneficiaries, the program has shown impacts in improving the...

This report presents the findings of a process evaluation for the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) urban cash intervention (CUCI) program. The CUCI was initiated by the Government of Malawi in 2020 to help mitigate the adverse health and economic effects of COVID-19 on urban poor populations...

The objective of this public expenditure review (PER) is to provide the government with options for fiscal consolidation and support macroeconomic stability in the medium-term. This PER addresses the broad topic of expenditure efficiency and examines options for expenditure rationalization to...

High labor tax wedges and slow formal employment growth have combined to make labor tax reform an important economic policy issue in Turkey. This synthesis report presents the results of a series of empirical studies of the impact of a labor tax reform. The analysis was undertaken before the...

Agriculture sector growth in Myanmar averaged 2.5 percent during 2009/10-2016/17. This compares to only half of the growth rate in neighboring China and Thailand at the same stage of their economic development and less than one-third of nonagricultural growth in Myanmar. This low agricultural...

This is a first for Indonesia: Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) is the only household-targeted social assistance initiative to have designed randomized impact evaluation into the initial allocation of the program. This brings three major benefits for policymakers: 1) the evidence available for...