Why Public Assets are Key to Debt Sustainability: A Moral Goal

Posted by Ian Ball, Dag Detter, Yannis Manuelides, and Wang Yan^[1]

Measures of a sustainable climate or even a healthy life are well understood and universally shared. Similar tools for measuring a sustainable economy and debt levels, using standard accrual accounting and budgeting techniques have been included in IMF manuals for more than two decades. Furthermore, IMF research has shown that countries with a stronger government net worth—total assets less liabilities—experience shallower recessions and recover faster in the aftermath of economic downturns.

Surveying Macro-Fiscal Management in East and Southern Africa

Posted by Bryn Battersby and Ian Lienert^[1]

Institutional arrangements of Ministries of Finance (MoFs) can impact the effectiveness of achieving macro-fiscal objectives and longer-term fiscal stability. Our new IMF Working Paper is a cross-country study of macro-fiscal functions in selected African countries and fills an important knowledge gap. The paper draws on the results of a survey of the macro-fiscal function of 16 east and southern Africa countries. It also includes an analysis of the macro-fiscal forecasts of most of the countries in our sample.

Disclosing New “Renewable Oil” in the Government’s Balance Sheet

Posted by Alok Verma^[1]

Governments worldwide are collecting huge quantities of data on individuals, the economy, agriculture, demography, geography and natural resources, traffic, weather, climate change, gender inequalities and many other topics to support the delivery of public goods and services to citizens and monitor their impact. We are witnessing an emerging era in which data is new oil in the digital economy. The private sector has already moved fast in realizing the enormous benefits of their information assets. Many companies have appointed Chief Data Officers (CDO) who are responsible for “managing and leveraging data as an enterprise business asset and developing data strategies” to achieve organizational goals.

Public Investment Management in South Asia

Posted by Celeste Kubasta and Raju Sharan^[1]

In February 2021, a workshop on the IMF’s Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA) tool and the new PIMA Climate Change Module was conducted virtually through the Fund’s South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC).[2] The workshop brought together 66 participants from all SARTTAC member countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Three countries in the region, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, have conducted PIMA’s in 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively.

Some Lessons from Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index

Posted by Celeste Kubasta and Claude Wendling^[1]

Transparency International released on January 28, 2021 the latest edition of its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Created in 1995, the CPI scores and ranks countries or territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be by experts and business executives. The existing methodology has been in place since 2012 and relies on a composite index which combines 13 surveys and assessments of corruption.

When It Rains, It Pours: Tools for Fiscal Risk Management in Africa

Posted by Bryn Battersby and Camilo Gomez Osorio^[1]

The saying “when it rain, it pours” could not be more representative of the challenges of fiscal risk management in 2020. COVID-19 has caused a deep macro-fiscal shock for many countries and has triggered unforeseen exposures to public finances. The pandemic has been particularly challenging for many low-income developing countries, which already had limited fiscal space to respond forcefully to large shocks before the crisis began. COVID-19 continues to create considerable uncertainty around the economic and fiscal outlook and raises the possibility of new and serious contingent liability realizations.

PFM and Climate Change – Death by a Thousand Diagnostics

Posted by Bryn Welham and Mark Miller^[1]

PFM diagnostics have become a growth business in recent years. The PEFA assessment is perhaps the most widely known, but it is certainly not alone. A 2018 PEFA stocktake identified 45 different PFM diagnostic tools. Diagnostics are also increasingly being set up for individual sectors and policy challenges. A recent ODI report identified seven diagnostic frameworks in the health sector alone.

Buying Fast & Open: Lessons Learned from Ecuador in Combating Corruption and Covid-19

Posted by Lindsey Marchessault^[1]

COVID-19 has put unprecedented strain on our economies and public finances. More than 80 countries have applied for rapid financing from the IMF to help meet the challenge of reduced revenues and increased need for public services. To ensure that the funds are put to good use and deliver value for money, more than 40 governments have committed to increasing procurement transparency and oversight of their emergency spending.

PFM Blog Celebrates the International Women’s Day

Posted by Teresa Curristine and Richard Allen^[1]

International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates the achievements of women worldwide, while calling for action to advance gender equality globally.  We are reminded today that the COVID crisis has widened existing inequalities and disproportionately impacted women. Reflecting these challenges, the theme of this year’s IWD is Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World. This celebrates the role and hard work of women during the crisis but also calls for action to address its impact on women.

Engendering the Recovery: Budgeting with Women

By Antoinette Sayeh, Jiro Honda, Carolina Renteria, Vincent Tang

Article originally posted on the IMF Blog - https://blogs.imf.org/2021/03/05/engendering-the-recovery-budgeting-with-women-in-mind/

International Women’s Day, March 8, marks a year from the start of widespread lockdowns in response to COVID-19. As an IMF blog warned back in July, women have borne the economic and social brunt of the pandemic. With many governments preparing budgets for the next fiscal year, we now have a golden opportunity to counter this inequity. We offer a starter kit for gender budgeting to help countries focus resources on women, and ensure future budgets are better for them than previous ones.