Sustaining Reform Amidst Conflict in the Middle East: The Role of Institutes of Finance

Posted by Benoit Wiest and Lamia Moubayed^[1]

At its 20^th session, the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration argued that “the problem facing most conflict-affected countries is the potential for a growing gap between those that have effective public institutions […] and those that do not have access to such public capacity”.[2] Institutes of Finance and Schools of Governance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region play an important role in building public sector capacity. This role takes a particular dimension in conflict-affected countries.

IMF Online Course on Revenue Forecasting and Analysis

Posted by Sebastien Leduc and Dora Benedek^[1]

IMF Online Course on Revenue Forecasting and Analysis (RFAx)
Dates: October 1 – November 26, 2021

The Fiscal Affairs Department and the Institute for Capacity Development of the IMF are pleased to announce the offering of a new online course on Revenue Forecasting and Analysis (RFAx). This free online course, offered on the edX platform, is open to government officials and the general public. The total workload is about 20-35 hours, self-paced over six to eight weeks. Please watch the course introductory video.

Rising to the Challenge—What Next on Fiscal Transparency in Jordan?

Posted by Richard Allen and Nabila Akhazzan^[1]

The IMF has recently published a Fiscal Transparency Evaluation (FTE) report on Jordan which was carried out by the Fund’s Fiscal Affairs and Statistics Departments.

Without comprehensive and reliable fiscal information, governments cannot properly measure the fiscal risks they face or make good budget decisions. And unless that information is made public, citizens and their legislatures cannot hold governments accountable for those decisions. Fiscal transparency is thus a critical element in effective fiscal policymaking and the management of fiscal risks.

Building Better Balance Sheets to Account for Natural Resources

Posted by Bonnie Ann Sirois, Edwin Ng, and Ross Smith ^[1]

In 2018, the IMF’s Fiscal Monitor reported that natural resources assets were equal to 38% of GDP in the countries surveyed, reinforcing the scale and importance of natural resources to governments’ balance sheets. However, the natural capital created by natural resources, including water, minerals, and biodiversity, is often not measured by countries, and is therefore not captured in governments’ balance sheets. In June 2021, a panel of experts hosted by the World Bank explored this issue.

Unlocking Access to Climate Finance for Pacific Island Countries

By Manal Fouad, Todd Schneider, Natalija Novta, Gemma Preston, and Sureni Weerathunga^[1]

Many small and fragile countries are both highly exposed to the adverse effects of climate change and have extremely limited resources. For some, the existential nature of the climate threat highlights the criticality of adapting to climate change—investing in infrastructure and other key areas to increase resilience and lessen the impact of climate-related natural disasters on growth and public welfare. Many small states have only a fraction of the financial resources needed to finance climate adaptation initiatives and rely on development partners and climate funds to access such financing. Yet, the experience in the Pacific Islands Countries has shown that financing has fallen short of the climate adaptation needs and that more will need to be done to unlock climate finance at the pace needed to respond to climate challenges. Maintaining the status quo will not be enough.

Lessons for PFM Reform - the PDIA Approach in Africa

Posted by Joana Bento^[1]

Recent impact assessments of traditional forms of PFM assistance have revealed that progress was more often observed in changes to PFM laws or practices, rather than actual improvements in PFM outcomes. For instance, many countries have introduced medium-term expenditure frameworks that did not improve the credibility of the budget or achieve greater alignment between budgets and plans. In response to those challenges, a group of academics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School[2] authored a book – Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action - proposing a different approach to institutional reform. This approach is called Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation, or PDIA.

Business Continuity Planning for Government Cash and Debt Management

Posted by Emre Balibek, Ian Storkey, and H. Hakan Yavuz^[1]

Cash and debt management operations are core “transactional” functions of public financial management. These functions, by their nature, are exposed to a complex set of operational risks. Business disruptions to government cash and debt management operations can have spill-over effects on the delivery of government services and prevent the efficient functioning of financial markets. For example, a government bond auction that fails because of an outage in the electronic auction platform, may have serious financial and/or reputational consequences for a nation’s financial system.

Coherent Policy, Planning, and Performance for Delivering the SDGs

Posted by David Fellows^[1]         

This is an extraordinarily important time for coherent policy, planning, and performance - the “3 Ps” – for delivering the SDGs and other core public policy objectives.

A Review of Academic Studies of Gender Budgeting

Posted by Tobias Polzer, Isabella M. Nolte, and Johann Seiwald^[1]

Gender budgeting has not only encouraged countries to adopt reforms but also researchers to undertake studies and publish articles. A recent study[2] conducts a systematic literature review in peer reviewed journals covering 78 studies beginning in the 1990s. It seeks to elicit avenues for advancing gender budgeting.

Implementation of Green Budgeting in EU Countries

Posted by Elva Bova and Simona Pojar^[1]

As many EU Member States are taking action to green their economies, how green are their budgets?