If there was one bold and timely policy to transform Indonesia, this is it. In 2012, spending on energy subsidies claimed more than one-fifth of the central government’s budget, that is, more than three times the allocation for infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity and irrigation...

By financing public goods and services that enhance productivity and promote private investment, public spending is widely believed to be critical for long-run growth. Such effects are distinct from any short-run Keynesian response to a public spending stimulus. While a short-run response...

This note discusses the external environment, economic outlook, and key policy challenges for the six South East European Countries (SEE6)—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH), Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia—as they seek to reignite economic...

GDP, the leading economic measurement, is outdated and misleading. . . . It’s like grading a corporation based on today’s cash flow and forgetting to depreciate assets and other costs. – Joseph Stiglitz, “Good Numbers Gone Bad,” Fortune, October 2, 2006.

The first years of the 21st century were characterized by more prudent macroeconomic policies in the developing world, the positive impact of debt relief on low-income countries (LICs), and positive growth trends for the world economy, despite the puncturing of the high-tech “bubble” in OECD...

Newly discovered oil reserves off the coast of Brazil present a unique opportunity for the country to boost an already successful trajectory of growth and development. This note examines potential choices for the government when it contemplates how to disburse this newfound wealth. This review...

The cost of the subsidy system in Morocco peaked at 6.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012, an amount larger than the country’s total investment budget for that year. Direct subsidies to households in 2013 (October 2013 prices) are estimated at DH34.4 billion (US$4.1 billion, or...

State and local debt and the debt of quasi-public agencies have grown in importance as a result of fiscal decentralization, rapid urbanization, and the increasing role played by private capital. However, with debt comes the risk of insolvency. This note outlines a set of aligned fiscal...