This paper focuses on options for reforming the Brazilian Revenue-Sharing scheme for the States, the so-called Fundo de Participação dos Estados or FPE, which constitutes one of the main intergovernmental transfers in Brazil. This focus is justified by the fact that such a reform has become an...

This study performs an up-to-date diagnostic of the Brazilian tax system in order to provide a basis for reform discussions among technical analysts, authorities and congressmen. It is based on the analysis and categorization of information on taxation in Brazil. Its focus is on the current...

The tax reform of 1965 in Brazil sought to streamline state taxation, replacing the old tax on sales and consignment (IVC) with a modern value added tax on the circulation of goods (ICM) as part of a profound change that aimed to build a national tax system. During the process of drafting the...

This paper focuses on options for reforming the Brazilian Revenue-Sharing scheme for the States, the so-called Fundo de Participação dos Estados or FPE, which constitutes one of the main intergovernmental transfers in Brazil. This focus is justified by the fact that such a reform has become an...

This paper analyzes capital inflow surges in emerging economies from 1980 to 2005. Estimated probit models are used, which discriminate well between surges associated with banking crises or recessions, and those surges that end without such events. The results indicate that the composition of...

Several European countries face challenges reminiscent of those faced by the emerging economies of Latin America. The economic booms in some peripheral Euro-zone countries financed by large capital inflows; the credit and asset price booms and then the busts including Sudden Stops in capital...

Europe faces challenges reminiscent of Latin American financial crises. The failure of recent liquidity support to normalize the situation in Europe suggests the need to refocus the policy debate on fundamentals: structural reform for growth and, where needed, restructuring to resolve banking...

This paper surveys the recent literature on the political economy of fiscal policy, in particular the accumulation of government debt. The authors examine three possible determinants of fiscal balances: opportunistic behavior by policymakers, heterogeneous fiscal preferences of either voters or...

This paper analyzes the aggregate effects of a revenue neutral fiscal-cum-social policy reform in a typical developing country that consists of two main changes: (1) the implementation of universal social insurance to replace the current dual social protection system (i.e., a reconfiguration of...