This paper develops an index measuring the adequacy of the institutions, rules and procedures governing the budget process in 46 African countries, presenting the most comprehensive analysis of African budget institutions hitherto conducted. The index includes the three stages of the budget...

The procyclicality of fiscal policy that is prevalent in developing countries and emerging markets is well known. Its explanation is less clear. Recently, social inequality and the combination of corruption and democracy have been suggested as alternatives to the traditional explanation of these...

What happens if HIPC debt relief resources are not additional? We seek to answer this question by quantifying the impact of debt service payments and aid flows in cross- country growth and investment regressions . Based on the regressions we assess the likely impact of debt relief with and...

Economic sanctions, and the suspension of budget support in particular, are supposed to pressure target governments to comply with donors' demands by putting spending commitments at risk. We argue that this is too simplistic since governments have more fiscal levers at their disposal. The case...