Publication: Risk Management Systems for Contingent Infrastructure Liabilities : Applications to Improve Contract Design and Monitoring
Loading...
Published
1998-08
ISSN
Date
2012-08-13
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Government guarantees for private infrastructure projects represent real liabilities, and their costs can average as much as a third of the amount guaranteed. The authors show how governments can use a risk valuation process to analyze the distribution of risks, decide which risks they should bear and which should be borne by the private sector, and reduce the frequency and size of calls on guarantees.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Lewis, Christopher M.; Mody, Ashoka. 1998. Risk Management Systems for Contingent Infrastructure Liabilities : Applications to Improve Contract Design and Monitoring. Viewpoint: Public Policy for the Private Sector; Note No. 149. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11538 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication Competition and Poverty(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-04)A literature review shows competition policy reforms can deliver benefits for the poorest households and improve income distribution. A lack of competition in food markets hurts the poorest households the most. Competition in input markets and between buyers helps farmers and small businesses. And more competitive markets bolster job growth over the longer term. More research is needed, however, to better understand the impact of competition reforms and antitrust enforcement on poverty and shared prosperity.Publication Investment Climate in Africa(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-07-01)The World Bank Group has been working on investment climate reform in Sub-Saharan Africa for nearly a decade, a period characterized by dramatic economic growth on the continent. Establishing links between such reform interventions and economic growth, however, is a complex problem. Although this note finds some connection between investment climate reform and economic growth, establishing more concrete evidence of causation will require greater focus at the country level, as well as on small and medium enterprises. This is where investment climate interventions generate change.Publication Small Business Tax Regimes(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02)Simplified tax regimes for micro and small enterprises in developing countries are intended to facilitate voluntary tax compliance. However, survey evidence suggests that small business taxation based on simplified bookkeeping or turnover is sometimes perceived as too complex for microenterprises in countries with high illiteracy levels. Very simple fixed tax regimes not requiring any books or records tend to be overly popular but prone to abuse. System reforms will require more precise tailoring of the simplified regimes to their target beneficiaries, coupled with strong compliance management to detect and deter abuse. The overall objective of simplified taxation for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries is generally to facilitate voluntary tax compliance and remove obstacles in moving toward business formalization and growth.Publication Export Competitiveness(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06)This review of the empirical literature shows that industries with more intense domestic competition will export more. Competition law enforcement can be traced to export performance and is complementary to trade reforms. Pro-competition market regulation that reduces restrictions and promotes competition, where it is viable, is an important determinant for trade. The elimination of barriers to entry and rivalry, and a level playing field in upstream sectors contributes to export competitiveness in downstream manufacturing sectors. In some sectors, effective competition policy can directly lower trade costs.Publication Saving Viable Businesses : The Effect of Insolvency Reform(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-09)The 2008 financial crisis and consequent rise in corporate insolvencies highlight the clear need for efficient bankruptcy systems to liquidate unviable firms and reorganize viable ones and to do so in a way that maximizes the proceeds for creditors, shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders. This note summarizes the empirical literature on the effect of insolvency reforms on economic and financial activity. Overall, research suggests that effective reforms increase timely repayments, reduce the cost of credit, and lower the rate of liquidation among distressed firms.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Contingent Liabilities for Infrastructure Projects : Implementing a Risk Management Framework for Governments(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1998-08)To manage their exposure arising from guarantees to infrastructure projects, governments need to adopt modern risk management techniques. The authors introduce an integrated risk management system that draws on recent advances in the private sector. Adapted for use in the public sector, the system enables governments to budget for expected losses and to set aside reserves against unexpected losses, thus avoiding the budgetary stress associated with redirecting scarce public resources to cover a sudden increase in costs.Publication Pakistan : Contingent Liabilities from Public Private Partnerships(Washington, DC, 2010-07)This final report is the fourth and final deliverable in Castalia's assignment, funded by the World Bank, to improve how contingent liabilities are managed in Pakistan. The report presents recommendations on how Pakistan should improve its policies and processes for issuing and managing contingent liabilities associated with public private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure. The contents of this report are organized as follows: section two explains why it is important for Pakistan to establish sound policies for managing contingent liabilities, based on the Government's existing exposure and gaps in the policies and processes that are currently in place. The Status Quo Report presented in appendix A provides an assessment of the Government's exposure to contingent liabilities and the existing policies and processes that are in place. Section three explains how Pakistan can better manage contingent liabilities by presenting recommendations to eight specific functions that will strengthen existing PPP policies. Section four analyzes options for who should perform the functions for managing contingent liabilities, and explains why we recommend empowering existing institutions in the preferred institutional framework. Section five presents the steps we suggest that the Government follows to implement these recommendations and operationalize an effective contingent liabilities management framework. Finally, section six presents assessment of international experience and good practice in managing contingent liabilities to provide additional context for recommendations in Pakistan. Appendix A includes the Status Quo Report from the first stage of this assignment. Appendix B includes a summary of the stakeholder consultation workshop conducted in Islamabad on July 21 to receive feedback on the draft recommendations for this assignment.Publication Managing Contingent Liabilities in Public-Private Partnerships(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010)Contingent liabilities create management problems for governments. They have a cost, but judging what the cost is and whether it is worth incurring is difficult. Except in the case of contingent liabilities created by simple guarantees of debt, governments usually can incur contingent liabilities without budgetary approval or recognition in the governments accounts. So governments may prefer contingent liabilities to other obligations. (The uncertainty surrounding contingent liabilities can work differently. It is well known that PPPs create contingent liabilities, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and others often warn of the risks. The initial reaction of a cautious Ministry of Finance may be to seek to avoid all contingent liabilities.) Management problems also arise once a government has incurred a contingent liability. Projects need to be monitored to reduce risks if possible. Spending on contingent liabilities must sometimes be forecast, despite the difficulty.Publication How Do Countries Measure, Manage, and Monitor Fiscal Risks Generated by Public-Private Partnerships? Chile, Peru, South Africa, Turkey(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-09)The topic of managing fiscal risks arising from public-private partnerships is receiving increased attention as more governments turn toward this type of financing for large infrastructure projects. Governments can manage balance sheet exposure to public-private partnerships by quantifying and capturing direct obligations and provisions for potential calls on government guarantees associated with public-private partnership projects in the preparation of the medium term fiscal framework and annual budget. This working paper examines how four countries with active public-private partnership projects manage the costs and risks of financial obligations generated by these investments throughout the lifetime of the contracts. The paper seeks to complement the existing literature with a practitioner's point of view while exploring if and how these countries monitor and evaluate the fiscal risks generated by the portfolio of public-private partnerships (as well as individual projects). The countries covered are Chile, Peru, South Africa, and Turkey, all of which have experience implementing public-private partnership projects. The research finds that countries have tailored fiscal risk management and monitoring frameworks to fit their circumstances and respective budgeting, accounting, and reporting practices. All four countries assess the overall or partial credit exposure to monitor and manage their fiscal commitments from public-private partnerships in a consolidated way. All countries have developed evaluation models to help assess fiscal risks and assess project and portfolio level credit exposure. Further scrutiny could be focused on budgeting and accounting practices, which could be strengthened and brought in line with international standards. Similarly, sharing and standardizing information would improve transparency and accountability.Publication Government at Risk : Contingent Liabilities and Fiscal Risk(Washington, DC: World Bank and Oxford University Press, 2002)Conventional fiscal analysis fails to address contingent fiscal risk. The government budget process and documentation generally fail to scrutinize the substantial claims on public resources that are associated with government contingent liabilities, realized and potential. This report fills gaps on our understanding of fiscal risks and develops suitable frameworks for managing them. It offers new analytical concepts, presents country case studies, and based on country case studies, provides a menu of practical ideas for policymakers and scholars to bring fiscal risk within the ambit of public finance. The book is divided into two parts: Part I of this book gives an overview of different approaches to dealing with government fiscal risks. The country examples in this part offer additional conceptual approaches and illustrate some of the discussion in the earlier chapters. Part II presents analytical and institutional approaches that governments might consider when facing risks in specific government programs or sectors. The book indicates that countries differ greatly in their treatment of contingent liabilities and other fiscal risks. In this respect, the book illustrates that contemporary practices have yet to be standardized.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
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 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 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 Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.