Person:
Inchauste, Gabriela
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
Fiscal incidence analysis,
Poverty and social impact,
Economic and social mobility,
Informality,
Distributional analysis,
Public finance,
Inequality,
Development economics
Degrees
Departments
Global Practice on Poverty and Equity, The World Bank
Externally Hosted Work
Contact Information
Last updated
July 12, 2023
Biography
Gabriela Inchauste is a Lead Economist in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice of the World Bank. She currently leads work on Fiscal and Social Policies for poverty reduction and shared prosperity. Her research interests revolve around the distributional impact of fiscal policy, ex-ante analysis of the distributional impacts of policy reforms, and understanding the channels through which economic growth improves labor market opportunities for poverty reduction. Prior to joining the Bank, she worked at the International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank where she contributed to operational and analytical activities in a number of countries covering topics such as macroeconomic forecasting, public expenditure policy, poverty and social impact analysis, fiscal and debt sustainability analysis, post-disaster needs assessments, and subsidy reform.She has published articles in academic volumes and journals on fiscal policy in low-income countries, decentralization, the distributional impacts of taxes and social spending, macroeconomic shocks and the poor, the informal sector, and the role of remittances in developing countries. A Bolivian national, she holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Publication Search Results
1 - 6 of 6
-
Publication
Intimate Partner Violence against Women: Prevalence, Formal Reporting, and Risk Factors in Chile
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-04)Intimate partner violence is among the most common forms of violence against women. In Chile, one in four women who have been in a partner relationship report having experienced some type of partner violence in the past 12 months, whether psychological, physical, sexual, or economic. However, only 22 percent of female victims of intimate partner violence file a formal complaint. This study analyzes the factors that determine the likelihood that a woman will be subject to violence perpetrated by her partner or ex-partner and the factors that determine the probability of reporting the abuse. Individual factors that increase women’s risk of experiencing intimate partner violence include being young, having fewer years of education, having a disability, and having been a victim of sexual abuse in childhood. Other factors include characteristics of partners or ex-partners associated with aggressive behavior in public spaces, having been a victim of intrafamily violence in childhood, and frequent alcohol consumption. The household dynamics that prevent women from participating in economic decision-making and the widespread acceptance of inequitable gender norms also significantly increase the risk that a woman will experience intimate partner violence. The likelihood that a woman will formally report intimate partner violence is mainly determined by the frequency of the episodes, characteristics of the partners or ex-partners, economic empowerment, and whether she has support networks. -
Publication
A Customizable Microsimulation Tool to Analyze Distributional Effects of Country Fiscal Policies
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12)Microsimulation modelling has become a powerful tool to analyze the effects of fiscal policy changes. The World Bank’s Equity Policy Lab (EPL) has developed a customizable microsimulation tool to assess the distributional effects of tax, benefits, and other fiscal reforms. This Note explains why and how countries use the microsimulation tools, using examples from Ecuador and Armenia—2 of the more than 20 countries that have developed and used the tool over the past 2 years—to demonstrate its effectiveness in engaging government officials and informing policy making. -
Publication
The Distributional Impact of Taxes and Transfers in Poland
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-08)This paper assesses the impact of fiscal policy on the incidence, depth, and severity of poverty, and examines whether there is room for an increased role for fiscal policy in improving the wellbeing of the poor. The results show that the combined effect of taxes and social spending helped substantially to reduce poverty and inequality in Poland in 2014, in line with other European Union countries, with most of the reduction largely being achieved by pensions. However, in cash terms, households beginning in the second decile were net payers to the treasury in 2014, as the share of taxes paid exceeded the cash benefits received for all but the poorest 10 percent of the population. Although the Polish fiscal system in 2014 had the capacity to redistribute, it had a relatively weak capacity to reduce poverty given the resources at its disposal, and this was especially true for families with children. Microsimulations of the introduction of the Family 500+ program in 2016 show the redistributive and poverty reduction impacts of the new program, even after taking into account the potential increase in indirect taxes. Finally, alternative reforms of the tax-free allowance are considered, and estimates of their likely impact on poverty, inequality, and the potential fiscal cost are presented. The simulations show that there are potential efficiency gains from further targeting each of these new initiatives. -
Publication
The Distributional Impact of Taxes and Social Spending in Croatia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-09)This paper describes the impact of fiscal policy on inequality and poverty, and examines recent policy changes and whether there is room for an increased role for fiscal policy in improving the well-being of the poor. Taxes and social spending reduced inequality in Croatia; however, once the impacts of indirect taxes are considered, the system is unable to reduce poverty, especially for families with children and retirees. Beginning in the second decile, households are net payers to the treasury, as the share of taxes paid exceeded the cash benefits received for all but the poorest 10 percent of the population. Microsimulations of recent tax changes find that inequality after taxes and transfers is expected to increase slightly in 2017, as most of the benefits of the reform were concentrated at the top of the distribution. Although the impact of lower value-added taxes on electricity and utility bills is expected to be slightly poverty reducing, this effect is small relative to the relief that is needed. A reduction in the standard value-added tax rate from 25 to 24 percent would result in a small decline in poverty and inequality. However, the impact may be much smaller, depending on how this measure would be financed. -
Publication
The Distributional Impact of Taxes and Social Spending in Romania
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-08)The combined effect of taxes and social spending in Romania helps to reduce inequality, although less so than in other European Union countries. However, the combination of direct and indirect taxes and transfers leads to an increase in poverty, as direct cash transfers to poor households are not large enough to compensate them for the burden of indirect taxes. This is especially important for rural households and families with children. Moreover, recent reductions in the rates for personal income and value-added taxes are expected to have led to an increase in inequality, as most of the tax relief accrued to the top of the income distribution. Although these changes likely helped to reduce poverty, they were an expensive way to achieve a small decline in the poverty rate. Higher and better targeted social assistance spending could have achieved better distributional results at a much lower fiscal cost. These results call for greater use of simulation tools that could inform policy makers and the public of the fiscal costs and redistributive impacts of proposed reforms. -
Publication
The Distributional Impact of Taxes and Transfers: Evidence From Eight Developing Countries
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017-08-24)The World Bank has partnered with the Commitment to Equity Institute at Tulane University to implement their diagnostic tool—the Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Assessment—designed to assess how taxation and public expenditures affect income inequality, poverty, and different economic groups. The approach relies on comprehensive fiscal incidence analysis, which measures the contribution of each individual intervention to poverty and inequality reduction as well as the combined impact of taxes and social spending. The CEQ Assessment provide an evidence base upon which alternative reform options can be analyzed. The use of a common methodology makes the results comparable across countries. This volume presents eight country studies that examine the distributional effects of individual programs and policy measures—and the net effect of each country’s mix of policies and programs. These case studies were produced in the context of Bank policy dialogue and have since been used to propose alternative reform options.