This paper studies the effects of fiscal policy response in 118 episodes of systemic banking crisis in advanced and emerging market countries during 1980-2008. It finds that timely countercyclical fiscal measures contribute to shortening the length of crisis episodes by stimulating aggregate...

Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- PART I: TRENDS IN INCOME INEQUALITY AND THE REDISTRIBUTIVE ROLE OF FISCAL POLICY -- 1 Fiscal Policy and Income Inequality: An Overview -- 2 The IMF and Income Distribution -- 3 Inequality and Fiscal Redistribution in Advanced Economies -- 4...

Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Contributors -- INTRODUCTION -- 1 Fiscal Politics -- PART I: ELECTIONS, IDEOLOGY, AND POLITICAL FRAGMENTATION -- 2 Governments and Promised Fiscal Consolidations: Do They Mean What They Say? -- 3 Fiscal Policy over the Election Cycle in...

Intro -- Contents -- Foreword -- Contributors -- Acknowledgments -- Fiscal Policy for Economic Development: An Overview -- Fiscal Policy, Expenditure Composition, and Growth in Low-Income Countries -- Persistence of Fiscal Adjustments and Expenditure Composition in Low-Income Countries --...

Intro -- Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. EMPIRICAL METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE -- III. GROWTH AND FISCAL ADJUSTMENT IN TRANSITION COUNTRIES: SOME STYLIZED FACTS -- IV. ECONOMETRIC MODEL RESULTS -- V. QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF COUNTRY EXPERIENCES -- VI. CONCLUSIONS -- References.

Some scholars have argued that direct distribution of natural resource revenues to the population would help resource-rich countries escape the “resource curse.” This discussion note analyzes whether this proposal is a viable policy alternative for resource-rich countries. The first priority...

Achieving fiscal consolidation without undermining growth and poverty-reduction efforts is a key policy challenge in many countries. Using India as an illustration, this paper shows how a mix of well-designed taxation and spending policies can help address these challenges. On the tax side, the...

This paper surveys the economic literature on the scaling-up of aid to Africa. It provides a checklist of issues that need to be considered when preparing a long term macroeconomic projection for a country involving the assumption of a significant increase in aid. Such scaling-up scenarios are...

The international community has committed to scaling up aid and improving aid delivery to low-income countries to help them meet the Millennium Development Goals. Other ""emerging"" donors, public and private, are increasing their assistance, and debt-relief initiatives are creating space for...