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?

Technology Can Level the Playing Field for Disabled People in the Workforce

Posted by Talal Rafi¹

• One in six people worldwide have a disability – and faces economic exclusion.
• Ensuring digital transformation includes disabled people also brings larger economic benefits.
• Technology in the areas of edtech, fintech, remote working and networking can all further inclusion.