One of the main challenges in low-income Asia and the Pacific countries is users' willingness to pay for water services. In contrast, investors and private operators in the water sector prefer a high rate of return. This has often led to the failure of public-private partnerships for water...

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of information and communications technology (ICT) not only for the economy but also for human well-being. However, the investment gap in ICT infrastructure has been growing and is expected to reach more than $30 billion by 2040. We argue that one...

This paper investigates whether better access to markets through an improved road network plays a role in improving the profitability of firms in India. We construct a district-level market access index using Indian road network shapefiles, district boundaries, and nightlight raster images and...

This article presents new monthly estimates of the gross fixed capital formation of the Brazilian general government for the 2002-2010 years. A significant research effort was made to carry out the estimations. First, the many differences between the concepts of "public investment" (as used in...

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of information and communication technology (ICT) not only for the economy but also for human well-being. However, the investment gap in ICT infrastructure has been growing and is expected to reach more than $30 billion by 2040. We argue that one...

This paper estimates the primary structural budget balance (eliminating the effects due to cyclical fluctuations in GDP and oil price) for the central government and public administrations from 1997 to the second quarter of 2010. Some adjustments were made on the IMF methodology to account for...

This discussion paper intends to complement the analyzes carried out in Gobetti (2015), updating the diagnosis of the development of fiscal balances of the Brazilian public sector from the new series of GDP released by IBGE and statistics "above the line" that incorporate regional level of...

This paper presents a critical assessment of income and profit taxation in Brazil. It discuss how tax cuts for capital income during the eighties and nineties, following mainstream policy recommendations, have constrained the redistributive role of the income tax. The analysis is based on...

This Discussion Paper aims to carry out an X-ray of federal public spending between 2001 and 2015 and in addition, a preliminary analysis of the fiscal adjustment in progress, identifying what were the expenditure groups and programs/actions hardest hit. The analytical work is based on a model...

This text aims to qualify the debate on the need for fiscal adjustment in Brazil, showing that the trend that takes place - at this conjuncture, as in other past - a low quality setting, based on cutting investments and / or increased tax burden, it is almost inevitable in the face of public...