Fiscal Policy | IMF Blog

A Firming Recovery

July 24, 2017

Versions in عربي (Arabic), Bahasa (Indonesian), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

(photo: IMF)

The recovery in global growth that we projected in April is on a firmer footing; there is now no question mark over the world economy’s gain in momentum.

As in our April forecast, the World Economic Outlook Update projects 3.5 percent growth in global output for this year and 3.6 percent for next.

The distribution of this growth around the world has changed, however: compared with last April’s projection, some economies are up but others are down, offsetting those improvements. Continue reading “A Firming Recovery” »

By IMFBlog| July 23rd, 2017|banking, capital flows, China, climate change, developing countries, Economic outlook, Emerging Markets, Employment, Environment, Europe, Financial markets, Fiscal, Fiscal policy, Globalization, growth, IMF, income, Inequality, inflation, Investment, Japan, jobs, labor force, labor markets, Low-income countries, Public debt, trade, Uncategorized, unemployment, wages|0 Comments

Corrosive and Costly Corruption

By IMFblog

July 14, 2017

Corruption can hurt growth and ruin people’s economic chances (photo: Eugene Keebler/iStock)

Corruption can lead to pervasive distrust in government, generating violence, civil strife, and conflict. And the results are devastating for people.

Another problem is that corruption is costly—particularly for those who are already worse off. IMF research shows that in countries with greater levels of corruption, infant mortality and dropout rates are especially high, partly due to less spending on health and education. Reduced investment in these areas tends to hurt poor people the most, and contributes to higher inequality. Continue reading “Corrosive and Costly Corruption” »

By IMFBlog| July 14th, 2017|corruption, Economic research, Fiscal policy, Government, growth, inclusive growth, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Politics, productivity, Public debt, taxation|0 Comments

Two to Tango—Inflation Management in Unusual Times

By Vitor Gaspar, Maurice Obstfeld, and Chang Yong Rhee

June 15, 2017

Versions in 中文 (Chinese), and 日本語 (Japanese)

Shinjuku shopping district, Tokyo, Japan. Strong coordination between monetary and fiscal policies can help Japan tackle its low inflation (photo: Nikada/iStock/Getty Images)

Monetary and fiscal policies interact in complex ways. Yet modern institutional arrangements typically feature a strict separation of responsibilities. For example, the central bank targets inflation and smooths business cycle fluctuations, while the fiscal authority agrees to respect its budget constraint and to support financial stability by maintaining the safe asset status of its debt. This gives governments the freedom to pursue a multiplicity of economic and social objectives (in IMF parlance, inclusive growth).

Continue reading “Two to Tango—Inflation Management in Unusual Times” »

By IMFBlog| June 15th, 2017|Advanced Economies, aging, Asia, Economic outlook, Fiscal policy, inflation, inflation targeting, International Monetary Fund, monetary policy|0 Comments

Higher Policy Uncertainty Could Be Bad News for Japan’s Economy

by Elif C. Arbatli, Steven J. Davis, and Arata Ito

May 30, 2017

Version in 中文 (Chinese), 日本語 (Japanese)

Policy uncertainty remains a challenge in Japan, and can harm the country’s economic performance according to a new IMF study. The good news is that credible plans for taxation, spending and structural reforms, as well as greater clarity about monetary policy can reduce uncertainty. Continue reading “Higher Policy Uncertainty Could Be Bad News for Japan’s Economy” »

By IMFBlog| May 30th, 2017|Advanced Economies, aging, Asia, banking, Employment, exports, Financial markets, Fiscal, Fiscal policy, imports, income, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Japan, jobs, labor force, labor markets, productivity, taxation, trade, Uncategorized, unemployment, wages|0 Comments

Chart of the Week: Budget-friendly, Equitable Growth in France

By IMFBlog

May 15, 2017

Version in Français (French)

One need look no further than the national motto—liberté, égalité, fraternité—to understand that equality is an especially important concept in France. French policies play an important role in combating inequality. This is primarily achieved through a combination of minimum wage policies and an extensive tax and transfer system.

But these traditional equality-enhancing policies may have reached their limits as unemployment has become entrenched and budgets have been severely stretched. So, what are the best policies for a country weighing how to boost growth, lessen inequality, and minimize costs? It is not a zero sum game.

Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Budget-friendly, Equitable Growth in France” »

By IMFBlog| May 15th, 2017|Economic research, Employment, Europe, Government, IMF, Inequality, Public debt, taxation|0 Comments

Chart of the Week: Sharing the Fruits of Growth

By IMFBlog

At last week’s Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, economists and policymakers discussed ways to maintain the momentum of the global economic expansion—while also ensuring that the fruits of growth are shared more widely within their countries. Fiscal policy—government’s ability to tax and spend—has an important role to play.

The effectiveness of fiscal policy in mitigating inequality varies widely by country, as seen in our Chart of the Week. The chart shows the redistribution effect of fiscal policy before and after taxes, as measured by the change in the Gini coefficient. A Gini of zero expresses perfect equality, while a Gini of one expresses maximum inequality. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Sharing the Fruits of Growth” »

By IMFBlog| April 24th, 2017|Caribbean, developing countries, Economic outlook, Economic research, education, Emerging Markets, Employment, Fiscal, Fiscal policy, Government, growth, health, IMF, inclusive growth, income, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, jobs, labor force, labor markets, Spring Meetings, taxation, U.S., unemployment|0 Comments

Global Economy Gaining Momentum—For Now

By Maurice Obstfeld

Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

Momentum in the global economy has been building since the middle of last year, allowing us to reaffirm our earlier forecasts of higher global growth this year and next. We project the world economy to grow at a pace of 3.5 percent in 2017, up from 3.1 percent last year, and 3.6 percent in 2018. Acceleration will be broad based across advanced, emerging, and low-income economies, building on gains we have seen in both manufacturing and trade.

Our new projection for 2017 in the April World Economic Outlook is marginally higher than what we expected in our last update. This improvement comes primarily from good economic news for Europe and Asia, as well as our continuing expectation for higher growth this year in the United States.

Continue reading “Global Economy Gaining Momentum—For Now” »

By IMFBlog| April 18th, 2017|Advanced Economies, capital markets, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Fiscal policy, Globalization, growth, inclusive growth, income, Inequality, labor markets, Low-income countries, Politics, productivity, Uncategorized|0 Comments

The Case for Fiscal Policy to Support Structural Reforms

By Angana Banerji, Era Dabla-Norris, Romain Duval, and Davide Furceri

Versions in 中文 (Chinese), Français (French),Deutsch (German), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

Many advanced countries need structural reforms to make their economies more productive and raise long-term living standards. Our new research shows that provided countries can afford it, fiscal policy, through spending or tax incentives, can help governments overcome some obstacles to the reforms, particularly in the early stages. Continue reading “The Case for Fiscal Policy to Support Structural Reforms” »

By IMFBlog| March 13th, 2017|Advanced Economies, Fiscal policy, International Monetary Fund, labor markets, structural reforms, Uncategorized|0 Comments

‘Soft’ Infrastructure Is Crucial for Stable and Balanced Growth in China

By iMFdirect

Version in 中文 (Chinese)

An important attribute of China’s remarkable record of economic growth has been the creation of an astonishing network of “hard” infrastructure, like roads, power stations, and communication networks. Now, China needs to move toward a new stage of reforms designed to help rebalance its economy. The stakes for global prosperity are high—China is the second largest economy and contributes one-third of the world’s growth. Continue reading “‘Soft’ Infrastructure Is Crucial for Stable and Balanced Growth in China” »

By IMFBlog| March 2nd, 2017|financial policy, Fiscal policy, growth, IMF, infrastructure, Investment|0 Comments

The IMF is Not Asking Greece for More Austerity

By Maurice Obstfeld and Poul M. Thomsen

Versions in عربي (Arabic); Français (French); Deutsch (German); ελληνικά (Greek); and Español (Spanish)

Greece is once again in the headlines as discussions for the second review of its European Stability Mechanism (ESM) program are gaining pace. Unfortunately, the discussions have also spurred some misinformation about the role and the views of the IMF. Above all, the IMF is being criticized for demanding more fiscal austerity, in particular for making this a condition for urgently needed debt relief. This is not true, and clarifications are in order. Continue reading “The IMF is Not Asking Greece for More Austerity” »

By IMFBlog| December 12th, 2016|Debt Relief, Fiscal policy, IMF, International Monetary Fund|0 Comments

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