The Czech government is confronted with a worsening fiscal situation. The structural deficit ballooned in 2000, and it is expected to widen further in 2001. The report suggests that, at this stage of the recovery, fiscal retrenchment instead should be in order, both to make room for private...

The study overviews the most relevant, current intergovernmental fiscal issues in the Czech Republic, centered on the options available to prod policy planning. Fragmentation at the lowest tier of government is the most striking feature of the administrative structure. This suggests a strategic...

This book is about inventing successes and good practices of governments that are "closer to the people." Numerous examples throughout Latin America indicate-often despite macroeconomic instability, high inflation, and strong top-down regulation-that subnational actors have repeatedly achieved...

The transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe, through the reform process of decentralization, are now seeking the devolution of fiscal powers, and responsibilities from central, to local governments, within financially sustainable environments. To this end, a system of local budgets,...

The chapters in this volume underscore the transformative role of globalization and urbanization, and show the interplay between these forces. Trade reform and liberalized foreign investment regimess have contributed to the spatial reallocation of economic activity toward cities, especially...

This paper attempts to describe and assess the achievements of the countries of South Eastern Europe - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Romania, and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - in pursuing structural economic reforms in the period since the end of the...

This is a collection of papers that study the constraints on fiscal systems, imposed by problems of institutions, administration, and incentives in developing, and post-Socialist economies. Chapter two focuses on the administration of indirect taxation, and provides a case study of indirect...

This book is organized as follows: Introduction; by William Easterly and Luis Serven Latin America's Infrastructure in The Era of Macroeconomic Crises; by Cesar Calderon, William Easterly, and Luis Serven The Output Cost of Latin America's Infrastructure Gap; by Cesar Calderon and Luis Serven...

This report studies the Bulgarian labor market with a view to understand the interactions between the performance of the Bulgarian economy and the functioning of its labor market. The report assesses also the position of Bulgaria vis-a-vis compliance with the "acquis communautaire," and provides...