This article explains the technique of redistribution of public resources from the SAPARD programme under individual provisions and regions of the Slovak Republic. Moreover, the article clarifies reasons of failure of individual project plans. Profit-making projects and reasons of rejections of...

This paper analyzes the extent to which the degree of international economic integration, both financial and trade, affects corporate tax rates. It explores this issue in the context of strategic behavior by countries, taking into account other global and domestic political economy factors. Tax...

We investigate the relation between changes in tax composition and long-run economic growth using a new dataset covering a broad cross-section of countries with different income levels. We specifically consider 69 countries with at least 20 years of observations on total tax revenue during the...

External shocks pose major challenges to fiscal policy makers through lower output and large fiscal imbalances. This paper analyzes the case of Moldova, which faced parallel crises a decade apart: the Russian crisis of 1998 and the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. The country went through...

The economy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands has experienced a strong recovery with a 5.2 percent growth in 2010 following strong improvement in the fisheries sector and a moderate recovery in exports. The financial sector remained focused on consumer lending and contributed little to...

This paper discusses how to enhance automatic stabilizers without increasing the size of government. We distinguish between permanent changes in the parameters of the tax and expenditure system (e.g., changes in tax progressivity) that will enhance the traditional automatic stabilizer, and...

Low-income countries continue to face significant challenges in meeting their vast development needs while maintaining a sustainable debt position, even after many of these countries have benefited from substantial debt relief. These challenges are further exacerbated by changes in the financial...

Staff Discussion Notes showcase the latest policy-related analysis and research being developed by individual IMF staff and are published to elicit comment and to further debate. These papers are generally brief and written in nontechnical language, and so are aimed at a broad audience...

Fiscal Responsibility Laws (FRLs) appear to be more popular in middle-income countries than advanced countries, even though their success is limited. The reasons why few advanced countries have a FRL include: the existing legal framework for the budget system is adequate; supranational rules and...

The paper notes that the development of sound budgetary institutions in countries such as France, the U.K. and the U.S. has taken a very long time?200 years or more?and is still evolving. It discusses Douglass North's prediction?which is supported by available data?that institutional reform is...