Publication:
Subnational Debt Management and Restructuring: Lessons from International Experience

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (2.82 MB)
1,717 downloads
English Text (328.6 KB)
82 downloads
Date
2016-01
ISSN
Published
2016-01
Abstract
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, policymakers around the world are focusing once again on government debt sustainability. In China, subnational government debt is an important part of total government debt, and therefore deserves the attention that policymakers have paid to the topic. Subnational debt has played an important role in financing China’s impressive infrastructure that is the envy of the world. And subnational debt was instrumental in the economic stimulus that China so effectively staged after the global financial crisis, through which China maintained high levels of economic activity. This e-book starts with a summary and presentation of the Chinese perspective on this subject of subnational debt in session one. Session two introduced some international cases which are highly relevant to the current situation in China. Session three brought these international case studies and experts’ perspectives together to arrive at syntheses that narrowed down key issues which China needs to consider going forward in subnational debt management and restructuring. The roundtable discussion among international and Chinese experts on the way forward for China in session four provided an illuminating discussion of this issue. The author hope that this will inform specific policies that will be formulated to help local governments in China manage their subnational debts.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Kahkonen, Satu; Gooptu, Sudarshan. Kahkonen, Satu; Gooptu, Sudarshan, editors. 2016. Subnational Debt Management and Restructuring: Lessons from International Experience. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23668 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Subnational Debt Finance and the Global Financial Crisis
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-05) Liu, Lili; Canuto, Otaviano
    This note focuses on the impact of the global financial crisis on subnational debt financing. The report approach the following questions: why is subnational debt financing important? What are the impacts of the crisis on the fiscal balance and financing cost of subnational governments (SNGs)? What explains the variations across countries in the ability of SNGs to proactively address the threat of fiscal deterioration? And, equally important, what are the long-term structural challenges facing SNGs in sustainable financing of infrastructure and social services?
  • Publication
    Debt Management : Now the Difficult Part
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-07) Gooptu, Sudarshan; Primo Braga, Carlos A.
    The first years of the 21st century were characterized by more prudent macroeconomic policies in the developing world, the positive impact of debt relief on low-income countries (LICs), and positive growth trends for the world economy, despite the puncturing of the high-tech "bubble" in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Until the eve of the financial crisis, many emerging economies were able to reduce the vulnerabilities of their debt portfolios and debt management was being carried out under favorable circumstances. Average maturities increased, reflecting increases in the maturities of new debt issuances, and rollover risks declined. Moreover, the increased availability of local currency financing, reflecting the development of domestic capital markets, and the globalization of the corporate sector in emerging economies underscored the changing landscape of development financing.
  • Publication
    Subnational Debt, Insolvency, and Market Development
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-04) Liu, Lili; Canuto, Otaviano
    State and local debt and the debt of quasi-public agencies have grown in importance as a result of fiscal decentralization, rapid urbanization, and the increasing role played by private capital. However, with debt comes the risk of insolvency. This note outlines a set of aligned fiscal incentives that should be in place, as well as the design issues to be considered in debt restructuring frameworks. This note also suggests some broad lessons extracted from several country experiences with subnational debt restructuring, insolvency frameworks, and debt market development. This note suggest a range of possible lessons to consider when designing reforms to align fiscal incentives and develop a robust subnational debt framework that can be used to effectively manage the insolvency risks that will inevitably accompany the new dynamism of subnational finance.
  • Publication
    Strengthening Subnational Debt Financing and Managing Risks
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-08-16) Liu, Lili
    The Chinese budget law prevents subnational governments from borrowing. However, Subnational Governments (SNG) borrows indirectly off-budget, through Urban Development and Investment Corporations (UDIC). There are various estimates on the off-budget liabilities, with one estimate having the liabilities at more than 30 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This paper provides a discussion of more reform options for China, anchored with cross-country experiences and lessons. The way forward is to develop regulatory frameworks that can expand SNG and UDIC market access and debt financing, while strengthening subnational fiscal discipline, managing default risks, promoting capital market development, and supporting macroeconomic management and a stable financial system. The paper is organized as: section two presents fiscal rules and framework - ex ante regulations for subnational debt issuing and procedures. Section three discusses what to do when a subnational government becomes insolvent - ex post system. Section four is devoted to developing regulatory frameworks for UDIC, which may require a debt restructuring system different from a system for direct debt of SNG. Ex post debt restructuring for UDIC may also differ from the existing bankruptcy code in China for corporations due to the fundamental difference between a public entity and a private corporation. Section five focuses on strengthening debt management capacity of SNG particularly with respect to liquidity and refinancing risks. Section six focuses on managing fiscal risks of land financing, given its prevalent use in China. Section seven discusses the development of a competitive and diversified subnational debt market. Section eight concludes with suggested reform options.
  • Publication
    Do Middle-Income Countries Continue to Have the Ability to Deal with the Global Financial Crisis?
    (2010-07-01) van Doorn, Ralph; Suri, Vivek; Gooptu, Sudarshan
    This paper introduces an "index of macroeconomic space" -- demonstrating the ability of a country to run a countercyclical fiscal policy or a fiscal stimulus at any point in time -- to show how a sample of 20 mostly middle-income countries had entered the 2008 global financial crisis with different initial conditions that, in turn, determined their ability to respond to this crisis. Since 2008, many have implemented expansionary fiscal policies and have used up available macroeconomic space. Most have had to resort to increased borrowing by the public sector, both externally and domestically. Can the middle-income countries restore their pre-2008 macroeconomic space (to the level given by historical averages of key macroeconomic variables) or contain it from further deterioration in the medium term? In an endeavor to address this question, this paper shows, through illustrative scenarios, that the room to maneuver for some countries is somewhat limited unless they embark on severe, unprecedented fiscal adjustments or they may need more time to do so than current projections seem to suggest.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Making Monitoring and Evaluation Systems Work : A Capacity Development Toolkit
    (World Bank, 2009) Gorgens, Marelize; Zall Kusek, Jody
    There are constant and growing pressures on governments and organizations around the world to be more responsive to demands from internal and external stakeholders for good governance, accountability and transparency, greater development effectiveness and delivery of tangible results. Governments, parliaments, citizens, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, international organizations, and donors are all among stakeholders interested in better performance. As demands for greater accountability and results have grown, there is an accompanying need for useful and useable results-based monitoring and evaluation systems to support the management of policies, programs, and projects. Governments and other organizations have many different kinds of tracking systems as part of their management toolkits: good human resource systems, financial systems, and accountability systems. They also need good feedback systems. A results-based monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system is essentially such a feedback system; it is a management tool to measure and evaluate outcomes, providing information for governance and decision making. Many management systems have been missing a feedback component to enable them to track the consequences of actions. Building an M&E system gives decision-makers an additional management tool by providing feedback on performance as a basis for future improvement.
  • Publication
    Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2016-04-06) Black, Robert; Laxminarayan, Ramanan; Temmerman, Marleen; Walker, Neff; Black, Robert; Laxminarayan, Ramanan; Temmerman, Marleen; Walker, Neff
    This book focuses on maternal conditions, childhood illness, and malnutrition. Specifically, the chapters address acute illness and undernutrition in children, principally under age 5. It also covers maternal mortality, morbidity, stillbirth, and influences to pregnancy and pre-pregnancy. It also includes the transition to older childhood, in particular, the overlap and commonality with the child development volume.
  • Publication
    Climate Change and Migration : Evidence from the Middle East and North Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2014-07-15) Bougnoux, Nathalie; Wodon, Quentin; Liverani, Andrea; Joseph, George; Wodon, Quentin; Liverani, Andrea; Joseph, George; Bougnoux, Nathalie
    Climate change is a major source of concern in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and migration is often understood as one of several strategies used by households to respond to changes in climate and environmental conditions, including extreme weather events. This study focuses on the link between climate change and migration. Most micro-level studies measure climate change either by the incidences of extreme weather events or by variation in temperature or rainfall. A few studies have found that formal and informal institutions as well as policies also affect migration. Institutions that make government more responsive to households (for example through public spending) discourage both international and domestic migration in the aftermath of extreme weather events. Migration is often an option of last resort after vulnerable rural populations attempting to cope with new and challenging circumstances have exhausted other options such as eating less, selling assets, or removing children from school. This study is based in large part on new data collected in 2011 in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, and the Republic of Yemen. The surveys were administered by in-country partners to a randomly selected set of 800 households per country. It is also important to emphasize that neither the household survey results nor the findings from the qualitative focus groups are meant to be representative of the five countries in which the work was carried, since only a few areas were surveyed in each country. This report is organized as follows: section one gives synthesis. Section two discusses household perceptions about climate change and extreme weather events. Section three focuses on migration as a coping mechanisms and income diversification strategy. Section four examines other coping and adaptation strategies. Section five discusses perceptions about government and community programs.
  • Publication
    Changing the Face of the Waters : The Promise and Challenge of Sustainable Aquaculture
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) World Bank
    This study provides strategic orientations and recommendations for Bank client countries and suggests approaches for the Bank's role in a rapidly changing industry with high economic potential. It identifies priorities and options for policy adjustments, catalytic investments, and entry points for the Bank and other investors to foster environmentally friendly, wealth-creating, and sustainable aquaculture. The objectives of the study are to inform and provide guidance on sustainable aquaculture to decision makers in the international development community and in client countries of international finance institutions. The study focuses on several critical issues and challenges: 1) Harnessing the contribution of aquaculture to economic development, including poverty alleviation and wealth creation, to employment and to food security and trade, particularly for least developed countries (LDCs); 2) Building environmentally sustainable aquaculture, including the role of aquaculture in the broader suite of environmental management measures; 3) Creating the enabling conditions for sustainable aquaculture, including the governance, policy, and regulatory frameworks, and identifying the roles of the public and private sectors; and 4) Developing and transferring human and institutional capacity in governance, technologies, and business models with special reference to the application of lessons from Asia to Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
  • Publication
    Early Child Development, From Measurement to Action : A priority for Growth and Equity
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) Young, Mary Eming; Richardson, Linda M.
    The World Bank recently hosted a symposium on the priority of early child development (ECD) for economic growth and equity. The participants urged application of population-based tools and measures to assess the outcomes of children's early years and children's readiness for school. This study is derived from the symposium and is a valuable resource for policy makers, economists, donors, and investors, as well as researchers and practitioners in early child development. It summarizes the current neuroscience on early child development and major longitudinal studies, the rationale and urgency for greater investment, and countries' innovative funding strategies. The report consists of 15 chapters authored by ECD experts and leaders in the field. The chapters are grouped into five main parts relating to the: business imperative and societal benefits of ECD investments; lessons from evaluation of longitudinal ECD interventions; countries' experiences in monitoring ECD interventions; innovative approaches to countries' financing of ECD initiatives; and next steps on the ECD agenda for the next 5 years. A theme highlighted at the symposium and enlarged upon here is the urgent need for evidence- and population-based instruments and measures to monitor, evaluate, and compare ECD interventions over time and across settings.