In Belarus, divestiture of social assets, a misnomer for fringe benefits that comprise a part of wages, is needed to transform enterprises so they can function appropriately in a market economy. Maintaining supply of these services after enterprise divestiture is an important public policy...

The author examines the eroding tax base facing transitional economies by employing a framework that allows risk factors in assessing tax instruments. In an uncertain world, the author asks, which tax instruments should be used? The author examines Eastern Europe's revenue problem, including the...

Natural resources are typically subject both to taxation under the income tax system and to special resource taxes. Properly designed income taxes attempt to include capital income on a uniform basis. But in most countries the income tax treats resource industries more favorably than most other...

It is commonly argued that when the benefits of an infrastructure service are mostly local and there is little scope for economies of scale - as in urban transit, road maintenance, water supply, and solid waste management - decentralization is the most effective way to deliver service. Those...

The author summarizes the major findings and recommendations in Averting the Old Age Crisis, describing problems in traditional pension systems and proposals for reform. Then she describes how those reforms are being implemented in many countries and examines empirical evidence about pension...

Prior analyses of the relationship between fiscal decentralization and the size of government treat fiscal decentralization as the decentralization of either taxing or spending powers. But decisions about taxation and spending are inseparable. The author corrects this deficiency and analyzes the...

Interdependence of trade and public finance policy are important considerations in designing macroeconomic policy, public revenue policy, and public expenditure policy. A competitive real exchange rate, improved trade performance, and trade liberalization are all built on the base of sound...

In developing countries, most financial assets in formal markets are deposits at financial institutions. This potentially important tax base could be taxed at a low administrative cost. When revenues of financial taxes are significant, implicit taxes dwarf explicit taxes. The author focuses on...

As cities in developing countries grow, the need to meet increasing demand for urban infrastructure services has become an important policy problem. Failure to respond adequately affects productivity and the quality of life in those cities. In order to make the Bank's lending programs in this...

This paper specifies a microeconomic model to estimate the impact of investment in public infrastructure on private industrial profitability. Empirical results based on time series data for 34 industries characterize the Mexican industrial structure as having involuntary unemployment, deficient...