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This paper surveys that state of fiscal transparency in the wake of the current crisis and looks at what can be done to improve it. It examines the relationship between fiscal transparency and fiscal outcomes; reviews progress in promoting greater fiscal transparency over the past decade; considers the lessons of the recent crisis for existing fiscal transparency standards, practices, and monitoring arrangements; and makes a series of recommendations for renewing the global fiscal transparency effort in the wake of the crisis.
The Greek economy is teetering owing to heavy public debt and loss of market access. Greece is adopting an ambitious comprehensive multiyear adjustment program to lower the fiscal deficit and the debt ratio, reduce domestic demand in line with capacity, and increase supply and competitiveness so that the economy can step onto a higher growth path led by investments and exports. Greece needs a strong and sustained adjustment program to lower the fiscal deficit substantially and create the basis for a declining debt ratio.
This report reviews recent US fiscal developments and discusses key policy challenges that will need to be addressed in order to tackle the growing pressures on public retirement and health care systems during the next decade. Chapters discuss: the fiscal deficit and the need for fiscal reform; the economic impact of budget policies; fiscal consequences of social security and medicare; an intergenerational analysis of fiscal imbalances, debt dynamics and fiscal sustainability; energy policy and the role of taxation to reduce consumption.
This edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Minerals Yearbook discusses the performance of the worldwide minerals and materials industries during year 2013 and provides background information to assist in interpreting that performance. These annual reviews are designed to provide timely statistical data on mineral commodities in various countries. This volume covers data from Asia and the Pacific. Each report includes sections on government policies and programs, environmental issues, trade and production data, industry structure and ownership, commodity sector developments, infrastructure, and a summary outlook. Audience: Government employees and contractors, as well as businesses and employees, all working in mineral-related trades, especially with interests in statistics about mineral commodities overseas, will find this resource invaluable.
Leveraging its location and low-cost skilled labor, Slovakia has attained a very high level of integration with the global value chains, which has proved pivotal to exports growth and income convergence with the European Union. After half a decade of robust growth, the Slovak economy is decelerating. With rising trade tensions and a turning economic cycle, several vulnerabilities are coming to the fore. High dependence on exports combined with a concentrated export structure makes Slovakia particularly vulnerable to external developments. On the domestic front, a prolonged period of double-digit mortgage credit growth and declining bank profit margins have made households and the financial sector susceptible to labor and property market downturns.
Slovakia is highly vulnerable to the war in Ukraine, given its geographical proximity, heavy reliance on energy imports from Russia, and high integration into global value chains. The shock occurs against the backdrop of an incomplete recovery from the pandemic, with activity hampered by breakdowns in global supply chains and resurgent infection waves. Growth is projected to slow to 2.2 percent and inflation to surge to over 10 percent in 2022, with sizable downside risks amidst exceptionally large uncertainty.
1. Objectives and Plan of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3. Structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Part I. Multilateral Debt Relief for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 A. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 1. Concessional Assistance to Low-Income Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 2. The HIPC Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 2. 1. The Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative of 1996 . . . . . . . . 33 2. 2. The Cologne G-8 Summit of 1999 and HIPC II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 2. 3. Eligibility and Implementation under the Enhanced HIPC Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 3. What kind of debt is addressed by HIPC? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 4. HIPC Funding and Finances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 4. 1. The PRGF-HIPC Trust of the IMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 4. 2. The World Bank HIPC Trust Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 4. 3. The IDA Debt Reduction Facility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 4. 4. HIPC Financing through Multilateral Creditors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 4. 5. Conclusion: Trust Fund Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 5. HIPC Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 B. Debt Relief under the G-8: The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 1. MDRI as Operational Successor of HIPC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 2. Subsequent Changes in Lending Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 C. Case Study: The Contemporary History of Debt Relief in Ghana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 1. Ghana’s History with Economic Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 2. Ghana’s Reform Process under HIPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 X Table of Content 2. 1. Implementation of the HIPC Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 2. 1. 1. Preliminary Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 2. 1. 2. Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 2. 1. 3. Decision Point Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 2. 1. 4. Ghana’s Completion Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 2. 2. Donor Coordination under the Multi Donor Budgetary Support (MDBS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This paper provides a cross-country report on minimum wages. In the past few years, many countries in Central Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE) have increasingly turned to minimum wage policies. Throughout the region, statutory minimum wages had been in place at least since the early 1990s, but they were typically set at relatively moderate levels and affected relatively few workers. Minimum wages have risen sharply relative to both average wages and labor productivity. Minimum wages often affect relatively more workers in CESEE than in Western Europe. Governments are the key players in the minimum wage determination in CESEE countries.

France

International Monetary Fund. European Dept.

Published: 2019-07-24

Total Pages: 98


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This 2019 Article IV Consultation discusses that the French government revamped vocational training and professional development to foster labor market participation, especially for low-skilled workers, following key labor tax and labor code reforms enacted in its first year in office. In prioritizing the recommended reforms, the report highlights that the importance of carefully assessing the trade-offs and the proper sequencing of structural reforms and fiscal consolidation. The government’s structural reform agenda is being put in place and growth is expected to gradually return to its potential level over the medium run. However, risks have risen, related to a disorderly Brexit, trade tensions, and a softening of activity in the euro area, but also to a slowdown in the domestic reform momentum. Building on the ongoing government reform agenda, policies should aim at addressing France’s structural challenges—high public debt and spending, rising private sector indebtedness, high unemployment, inequality of opportunity, and sluggish productivity.