Many countries apply cost-equalization and/or fiscal capacity equalization formulas to enable sub-national governments to provide comparable service standards at comparable tax rates. This paper demonstrates how measures of expenditure needs and fiscal capacity can be derived from a structural...

This paper formalizes the new schemes of fiscal equalization that has been decided in 2009 and will be introduced at the local level in the canton of Fribourg (Switzerland) in 2011. It develops the political economy of the proposal with the aim of understanding the participative democratic...

This paper analyse the costs and benefits of being a capital or central municipality, where central costs are understood to be incurred specifically as a result of the problems large municipalities located at the centre of an urban agglomeration face and capital costs are understood to result...

Niger’s Fourth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility and Request for Waiver and Modification of Performance Criteria are examined. Economic growth in 2006 has been satisfactory at 4.8 percent, owing to a good harvest for the second year in a row, and strong mining,...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that despite some progress in macroeconomic stabilization and reform under IMF-supported programs during the 1990s, Chad’s indicators on business climate, governance, and socioeconomic conditions still remain among the lowest in the world. In...

Lesotho is a small, landlocked, low-income country, with limited natural resources and a narrow production and export base. In recent Article IV consultations, IMF staff has emphasized the importance of ensuring that increases in outlays for poverty reduction are consistent with fiscal...

The second Annual Progress Report (APR) evaluates progress of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) implementation aimed to promote growth and reduce poverty of São Tomé and Príncipe. The report recognizes the need to tighten fiscal and monetary policies to safeguard macroeconomic...

The current high Southern African Customs Unions revenues should be used to implement fiscal measures to secure fiscal sustainability and support economic growth. The government should formulate a financial sector strategy that addresses Swaziland’s twin challenges of enhancing financial...

This note argues that because fiscal deficit after a crisis owe much to a drop in tax revenues and a sluggish revenue growth, its adjustment has to rely more on revenue augmentation than commonly thought. Cutting extra spending in the wake of the crisis would not balance the book, while a...