This paper looks at the link between fiscal policy and debt sustainability in a number of African countries participating in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The paper finds that, on the basis of current fiscal policies, debt levels will remain unsustainable even after...

The question of what makes fiscal decentralization work is faced by many policymakers around the world. This book draws on both the relevant literature and policy and technical advice provided by the IMF to a wide range of member countries, and discusses the key factors that help make...

In this paper, Ter-Minassian and Fedelino assess the impact of the 2008-09 global financial crisis on sub-national government (SNG) finances. The crisis affected sub-national budgets both directly (via the decline in own revenues and upward pressure on cyclically-sensitive spending programs) and...

Intro -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Fiscal Challenges in Oil-Producing Countries: An Overview -- Part I. Determining Fiscal Policy in Oil-Producing Countries -- 2 An Alternative Interpretation of the "Resource Curse": Theory and Policy Implications -- 3 Operational Aspects of...

Intro -- Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. SOME PRINCIPLES FOR ASSESSING THE DESIGN OF FISCAL CONDITIONALITY -- III. MACROECONOMIC THRESHOLDS AND PCS Inflation -- IV. OTHER ASPECTS OF QUANTITATIVE FISCAL CONDITIONALITY DESIGN -- V. CONCLUSIONS -- REFERENCES.

Intro -- Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. SCALING UP AID AND THE ROLE OF THE IMF -- III. WHY WAGE BILL CEILINGS? -- IV. WAGE BILL CONDITIONALITY IN PRACTICE -- V. DO WAGE BILL CEILINGS ACCOMMODATE DONOR-FINANCED WAGE SPENDING IN PRIORITY SECTORS? -- VI. IMPROVING WAGE BILL CONDITIONALITY --...

The size of government is a commonly used variable in many analytical studies on the effects of fiscal policy. An accepted practice is to measure it as the ratio of government spending to GDP. However, this is not the correct metric when computing the stabilization effects of nondiscretionary...

We survey quantitative fiscal conditionality in selected sub-Saharan African PRGFsupported programs, and assess the conditionality against some possible benchmarks and best practices. While noting many caveats, the paper suggests some possible scope for further attuning of this conditionality to...