Fiscal positions of African countries have improved significantly during the past decade. Higher economic growth, better terms of trade, improved donor support notably through debt relief and better control of expenditure contributed to this improvement. But at the same time government revenue...

This review of public finance in developing countries covers tax advice and practice during the past half century, principles of good public finance, some key issues in development finance during the period, fiscal decentralization and some important open questions. Thinking about good tax...

This paper reports the results of a study of the impact of government expenditures on economic growth, emphasizing how government effectiveness influences the efficiency of government spending. The effects of sub-categories of government spending on growth are also examined. Total expenditures...

Debt relief and the scaling up of aid to low-income countries should allow for greater fiscal space for expenditure programs to create long-term growth and lower poverty rates. But designing a suitable medium-term fiscal framework that fosters a sustainable delivery of better public services and...

Developing economies with high levels of open or hidden unemployment face structural transformation problems. Unlike in mature economies there are no structural aggregate demand problems, and sustained aggregate demand stimulus can lead to a profit squeeze in the modern sector and...

This paper (1) examines the extent to which expenditure consolidation is occurring in 2010-11 among 126 low and middle income countries by compiling and analyzing projected fiscal trends using IMF data; (2) assesses the risks of contracting social spending, and presents common adjustment...

In the wake of the food, fuel and financial shocks, a fourth wave of the global economic crisis began to sweep across developing countries in 2010: fiscal austerity. Serving as an update of earlier research by UNICEF, this working paper: (i) examines the latest IMF government spending...

It is often argued that social protection is not affordable or that government expenditure cuts are inevitable during adjustment periods. But there are alternatives, even in the poorest countries. This working paper offers eight options that should be explored to expand fiscal space and generate...