Fiscal Rules: Make them Easy to Love and Hard to Cheat
By Xavier Debrun, Luc Eyraud, Andrew Hodge, Victor Lledo, Catherine Pattillo, Abdelhak Senhadji
April 13, 2018
Versions in Español (Spanish), Français (French), Português (Portuguese)
The national debt clock in New York City: a fiscal rule, like the debt ceiling, should not be set too low or too high. (photo: Frances M. Roberts/Newscom)
Rules to contain lavish government deficits are most effective if countries design them to be […]
Managing the revenue from natural resources—what’s a Finance Minister to do?
By Sanjeev Gupta and Enrique Flores
(Versions in Español)
The Finance Minister answers her mobile. On the line is the Minister of Energy, who informs her that the country has struck oil and that he expects revenues from its sale to start flowing into the budget in the coming four years. While excited by the prospects of higher revenues—indeed the average resource-rich country gets more than 15 percent of GDP in resource revenues—she starts to ponder how to use these revenues for her country’s development. She is aware that only […]
Still Some Hurdles On The Fiscal Path
(Versions in 中文, Français, 日本語, Русский, and Español)
Five years into the crisis, the fiscal landscape remains challenging. On the positive side, deficit-cutting efforts and the first signs of recovery reduced the fiscal stress felt in many advanced economies; but debt ratios often remain at historical peaks. At the same time, slowing growth and rising borrowing costs, combined with unabated demands for improved public services, puts pressure on government budgets in emerging market […]
An Open and Diverse Economy To Benefit All Algerians
Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF was in Algeria last week where she met with Algerians from all walks of life and discussed the country's priorities to generate more inclusive growth.
Seeing Our Way Through The Crisis: Why We Need Fiscal Transparency
Without good fiscal information, governments can’t understand the fiscal risks they face or make good budget decisions. Fiscal transparency—the public availability of timely, reliable, and relevant data on the past, present, and future state of the public finances—is thus to the foundation of effective fiscal management.
Euro Muscles in Brussels: Christine Lagarde on Greece
The head of the IMF Christine Lagarde was clear during her press conference—European leaders deal to help Greece and the euro area is a very constructive and comprehensive package of measures to resolve debt problems.