This paper continues the study of optimal fiscal policy in a growing economy by exploring a case in which the government simultaneously provides three main categories of expenditures with distortionary tax finance: public production services, public consumption services, and state-contingent...

Leading economists consider the shape and future of economic policy: Will it resume the pre-crisis consensus or contend with the post-crisis 'new normal'? Have we made progress with addressing the major issues or does confusion remain in today's economic environment? Chapters address topics that...

This book describes the reforms needed to move small middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa to advanced-economy status. The result of intense discussions with public officials in the countries covered, the book blends rigorous theory, econometrics, and practitioners' insights to come up...

Among member states, many structural weaknesses were exposed when economic performance declined significantly and financial markets became more discerning. This book focuses on the analytical underpinnings of real-time policy advice given to euro area policymakers during four cycles of the IMF's...

This paper integrates into the Fiscal Transparency Code (FTC) a new fourth pillar (Pillar IV) on natural resource revenue management. This completes the pending update to the IMF's FTC, as set out by staff in 2014 (see IMF 2014a)

This Selected Issues paper analyzes energy price reform in Kuwait. It emphasizes that Kuwait should take advantage of current low global energy prices to strengthen efforts to reform domestic energy prices. In the longer term, this would benefit growth by increasing efficiency in the economy and...

This Selected Issues paper examines the labor market and migration in Sweden. Sweden enjoys a broadly well-functioning labor market. The labor force has been expanding at a healthy pace, in part reflecting rising participation including by females. This paper discusses the compositional changes...

In 2011, following years of large-scale external imbalances financed by debt, Portugal's economy reached a crisis point. To restore economic growth and credibility with international lenders, the country embarked on a difficult path of fiscal adjustment and structural reforms. By many metrics,...

China is at a critical juncture in its economic transformation as it tries to rebalance what is generally seen as an exhausted growth model. A unifying theme across the reforms that will deliver this transformation is that it can no longer be achieved by raising the amount of physical investment...

This paper discusses the role of fiscal policy and demographics. By the end of this century, about two-thirds of all countries are expected to have declining populations. This will have profound implications for economics, financial markets, social stability, and geopolitics. Fiscal policy...