Publication:
Walking up the Down Escalator : Public Investment and Fiscal Stability

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dc.contributor.authorEasterly, William
dc.contributor.authorIrwin, Timothy
dc.contributor.authorServén, Luis
dc.date.accessioned2012-03-30T07:12:33Z
dc.date.available2012-03-30T07:12:33Z
dc.date.issued2008-03-01
dc.description.abstractWhen growth-promoting spending is cut so much that the present value of future government revenues falls by more than the immediate improvement in the cash deficit, fiscal adjustment becomes like walking up the down escalator. Although short-term cash flows matter, too tight a focus on them encourages governments to invest too little. Cash-flow targets also encourage governments to shift investment spending off budget by seeking private investment in public projects, irrespective of its real fiscal or economic benefits. To deal with this problem, some observers have suggested excluding certain investments (such as those undertaken by public enterprises deemed commercial or financed by multilaterals) from cash-flow targets. These stopgap remedies may help protect some investments, but they do not provide a satisfactory solution to the underlying problem. Governments can more effectively reduce the biases created by the focus on short-term cash flows by developing indicators of the long-term fiscal effects of their decisions, including accounting and economic measures of net worth, and, where appropriate, including such measures in fiscal targets or even fiscal rules.en
dc.identifier.citationWorld Bank Research Observer
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/4414
dc.identifier.issn1564-6971
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/4414
dc.publisherWorld Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesWorld Bank Research Observer
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.subjectaccounting
dc.subjectbudgeting
dc.subjectcash flows
dc.subjectdebt
dc.subjectexpenditure
dc.subjectexpenditures
dc.subjectfiscal deficit
dc.subjectfiscal policy
dc.subjectgovernment revenues
dc.subjectinfrastructure investment
dc.subjectinternational bank
dc.subjectinvestment spending
dc.subjectmacroeconomic stability
dc.subjectmacroeconomic stabilization
dc.subjectmarket reforms
dc.subjectpolitical economy
dc.subjectprivate investment
dc.subjectpublic finances
dc.subjectpublic investment
dc.subjectsolvency
dc.titleWalking up the Down Escalator : Public Investment and Fiscal Stabilityen
dc.typeJournal Articleen
dc.typeArticle de journalfr
dc.typeArtículo de revistaes
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.date.doiregistration2025-05-06T10:56:07.886135Z
okr.doctypeJournal Article
okr.globalpracticeMacroeconomics and Fiscal Management
okr.globalpracticeFinance and Markets
okr.identifier.report1
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pagenumber37
okr.pagenumber56
okr.pdfurlwbro_23_1_37.pdfen
okr.peerreviewAcademic Peer Review
okr.region.administrativeLatin America & Caribbean
okr.region.countryBrazil
okr.region.countryChile
okr.region.countryColombia
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Debt Markets
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Access to Finance
okr.topicPublic Sector Economics and Finance
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Investment and Investment Climate
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress
okr.volume23
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