policy and political debate
The Wealth of Nations: Governments Can Better Manage What They Own and Owe
By Vitor Gaspar, Jason Harris, and Alexander Tieman
October 10, 2018
عربي,中文, Español, Français, Baˈhasa indoneˈsia, 日本語, Português, Русский

A firefighter in Auckland, New Zealand: when governments know what they own they can put their assets to better use and can earn about 3 percent of GDP more in revenues to spend on citizens’ well being (Photo: Rafael Ben-Ari/Newscom)
What is the state of your personal finances? You probably think first about your debts: your mortgage, your credit card balance, and your student loans. But you probably also think about how much cash is sitting in the bank, the value of your house, and the rest of your nest egg.
Surprisingly, most governments do not approach their finances this way. (more…)