Publication: Azerbaijan : Public Expenditure Review
Loading...
Date
2003-04-03
ISSN
Published
2003-04-03
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Azerbaijan has experienced robust economic growth during the past seven years, aided by its oil sector development. Nevertheless, poverty is still pervasive and social indicators have deteriorated. The oil and gas windfall will be of undoubted benefit to the country and its citizens if combined with a very careful macroeconomic policy and fiscal stance, as well as steadfast implementation of the structural reform program and poverty reduction strategy. The experience of other resource rich countries has often been disappointing and left large strata of the population in continued poverty. The main challenge for Azerbaijan is to design and implement a policy agenda that leads to poverty reduction and improves incomes as well as equity, while maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability. This Public Expenditure Review (PER) focuses on the public expenditure part of the overall policy agenda. Its main objective is to provide a framework for more efficient use of public resources and more effective poverty reduction efforts. This framework is designed to be consistent with the maintenance of overall macroeconomic stability and with sustainable economic growth in the non-oil sector. The macroeconomic achievements over the past five years have been encouraging. Continuing these achievements, however, may present a greater challenge to the authorities in the coming decade. The relatively speedy accumulation of fiscal revenues related to the oil and gas windfall will create heavy spending pressures. Using these funds unwisely or out of the context of a sound vision of the country's sustainable economic development path will create macroeconomic instabilities, inefficient and non-competitive non-oil activities, or both. The basic conclusion and simple recommendation of this PER is that Azerbaijan follow a fiscal strategy consistent with sustainable development of the non-oil sector, while over time mending institutional weaknesses and structural deficiencies, and investing in its people.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2003. Azerbaijan : Public Expenditure Review. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13825 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Azerbaijan - Building Competitiveness : An Integrated Non-Oil Trade and Investment Strategy, Volume 2. Background Papers(Washington, DC, 2003-11-20)Azerbaijan's early transition to an independent, market-based economy has been tumultuous, entailing significant economic costs, and social impacts. Yet, unlike many transition economies, sound economic reforms since 1995, have enabled the country to achieve macroeconomic stability, and resume growth. Notwithstanding, the impact on poverty reduction has been modest, particularly in the case of the urban poor who did not benefit from land reform. To this end, the Government is committed to a poverty reduction program, through macroeconomic and structural reforms, to alleviate poverty and improve living conditions. This report looks at the role of trade and investment in reducing poverty, taking into account the fact that the oil sector, expected to be the primary driver of growth, accounts for 75 percent of the total increase in real output. Although projected growth in the non-oil sectors is 6.3 percent, and while relatively slow compared to the expected rapid growth in the oil sector, it would be a significant improvement over the average 3.8 percent growth rate achieved between 1995 and 2001. This base case growth scenario would reduce the incidence of poverty from 50 percent, to 30 percent, and would reduce the share of those in extreme poverty from 17 percent, to 7 percent by 2010. The report stipulates the exchange rate does not appear to hamper competitiveness, but remains a future challenge. Given the fact that private sector is liquidity constrained (the capital market is underdeveloped), fiscal policy will provide main policies to manage the oil windfall successfully, as well as accumulating the excess oil revenues in the Oil fund abroad, providing a fiscal sterilization, thus avoiding excessive real exchange rate appreciation. This study is a diagnostic of the non-oil trade and investment environment in Azerbaijan. Its primary objective is to define a strategy for enhancing competitiveness at the macro- and micro-levels, and increase trade and inward investment in the non-oil sector to assist in poverty reduction efforts. The strategy implements one of the key objectives of the Government's program, i.e., enabling income generating opportunities, and jobs in the non-oil sector. The analytical approach includes such program; and various strategies and analyses of the Government, donors, international financial institutions, private sector groups, and NGOs; relevant analyses of the Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF); as well as three assessments conducted for this report: an analysis of administrative barriers to inward investment; an evaluation of trade policy and market access agreements of Azerbaijan, including issues related to the World Trade Organization (WTO) accession; and, a pilot study of the potential for a fruit and vegetable processing cluster.Publication Peru - Restoring Fiscal Discipline for Poverty Reduction : A Public Expenditure Review(Washington, DC, 2002-10-24)This public expenditure review is produced jointly by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, and focuses on social sectors spending and leaves aside infrastructure and other sectors. This report, finalized in June 2002 and discussed with Authorities in mid-August 2002, does not take into account policy developments occurring after this time. The report is organized as follows: Chapter 1 presents a synthesis of Peru's public expenditure reform agenda from the Bank's perspective. It is based on, and distills, the thematic chapters that make up this report. Chapters 2-4 examine the core functions of public expenditure management: macro fiscal aggregates, resource allocations to strategic sectors, and microeconomic efficiency of public spending. Chapters 5-8 explore selected themes, such as the decentralization of public administration and the social sectors; civil service reform; governance and corruption; and and mining fiscal and environmental issues. These chapters are, in turn, supported by fifteen topic-specific background papers, including an innovative public expenditure tracking survey on municipal transfers. Other topics focus on public sector employment; decentralization of health and education; an empirical diagnostic study on governance, rule of law, and corruption; and a comparison of the Peruvian tax system with mining tax systems in other nations.Publication Vietnam - Delivering on Its Promise : Development Report 2003(Washington, DC, 2002-11-21)The focus of the report, combined with Vietnam's remarkable long-term growth potential, presents a favorable outlook, suggesting the effects of the East Asian crisis are over. The country is committed to socially inclusive development, and, translates a vision of transition towards a market economy, with socialist orientation into concrete public actions, emphasizing the transition should be pro-poor, noting this will require investments in the rural, and lagging regions, and a more gradual reform implementation, than often recommended. However, challenges identified include, first, further progress in economic reform - fast progress in liberalizing foreign trade, and integrating with world economy is increasingly at odds with the slowdown of state-owned enterprise reform. Second, poverty alleviation may be endangered - for in the absence of vigorous action, inequality is likely to increase. And, third, improving the quality of governance faces an economic inefficient mismatch, reflected by its legal framework, budgetary system, and administrative structures, resulting from the inherited centrally-planned economy. The report reviews the increasing inequalities, and the need to redress imbalances, indicating that - although needed - economic reforms, trade liberalization, and the transformation of state-owned enterprises, may create losers, while many of the gains of the last decade remain fragile. The Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS) identified key decisions that need to be made, supported by strong inter-ministerial coordination for its implementation, namely rolling out to provincial, district, and commune levels in order to better align priorities, and expenditures to the national development goals, supported by external assistance.Publication Kazakhstan : Public Expenditure Review, Volume 2. Main Report(Washington, DC, 2000-06-27)The report is the public expenditure review for Kazakhstan, and builds upon previous work on the country's transition experience to a market-oriented economy, and of recent public sector reforms. It comprises three volumes, namely, the Summary Report, the Main Report, and Annexes and Statistical Appendix, aiming at identifying key public expenditure issues, suggesting also, possible strategies, and policy options. Although the country achieved significant progress in liberalizing, and stabilizing the economy, including implementing institutional reforms to discipline public expenditures, outstanding issues remain, particularly regarding the persistent fiscal imbalance, the deficient domestic resource mobilization management, unreliable expenditure prioritization, and inefficient budgetary execution. The report suggests strategy options, and policy reforms that should, through a programmed deficit reduction, attain fiscal sustainability. These options address: the rationalization of domestic resource mobilization, mainly oil/gas rents to preserve domestic savings, capital, and development of non-oil sectors; the need for governmental action on program priority, such as budgeting, and performance evaluation; strengthening intergovernmental relations, through improved fiscal decentralization, increased local accountability, and tax reforms; and, creating the initiative for private participation.Publication Tajikistan - Second Programmatic Public Expenditure Review : Volume 1. Main Report(2008-06)This report, Second Programmatic Public Expenditure Review (PPER 2), is a sequel to PPER, which was published in July 2007. PPER 2 provides a detailed analysis of key public expenditure issues in Tajikistan and reports on the nonlending policy dialogue and technical assistance programs managed and coordinated by the World Bank. PPER 2 has a special focus on social sectors, especially the health and education sectors. Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS) carried out for the first time in Tajikistan in 2007 contributed to the findings in this report. The report also updates the macroeconomic and fiscal situation to take account of important developments in 2007 and analyzes the implications of energy sector reforms and investments for fiscal sustainability. This report is intended to contribute to improving the quality of life in Tajikistan through a comprehensive reform program. It spells out the macroeconomic, energy, and budget reforms necessary to achieve the growth the country seeks and, at the same time (and frequently via the same measures) the social welfare targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Spring 2025: Accelerating Growth through Entrepreneurship, Technology Adoption, and Innovation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-23)Business dynamism and economic growth in Europe and Central Asia have weakened since the late 2000s, with productivity growth driven largely by resource reallocation between firms and sectors rather than innovation. To move up the value chain, countries need to facilitate technology adoption, stronger domestic competition, and firm-level innovation to build a more dynamic private sector. Governments should move beyond broad support for small- and medium-sized enterprises and focus on enabling the most productive firms to expand and compete globally. Strengthening competition policies, reducing the presence of state-owned enterprises, and ensuring fair market access are crucial. Limited availability of long-term financing and risk capital hinders firm growth and innovation. Economic disruptions are a shock in the short term, but they provide an opportunity for implementing enterprise and structural reforms, all of which are essential for creating better-paying jobs and helping countries in the region to achieve high-income status.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.