Publication: Azerbaijan : Public Expenditure Review
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2003-04-03
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2013-06-10
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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.
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“World Bank. 2003. Azerbaijan : Public Expenditure Review. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13825 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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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. 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