Publication: Public Expenditure Policies in Southeast Europe
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Date
2007-11
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2007-11
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The countries of Southeastern Europe (SEE) and the province of Kosovo (thereafter, Kosovo) have undergone a significant, though difficult, transition over the past decade. Series of conflicts in the region have complicated the transition process, which in the initial phase focused on macroeconomic stabilization and reconstruction. Helped by macroeconomic stability and efforts in advancing structural reforms, real Gross Domestic Product, or GDP growth in region has picked up this century, averaging 5.8 percent during 2000-2006, although it has still lagged the pace in both the more advanced reformers and the average for emerging Asia. In addition to boosting living standards, the SEE countries' shared aspiration to advance European Union (EU) integration has been increasingly shaping the reform agenda. This report reviews the level, composition and outcomes of government spending and distills some of the lessons that emerge from efforts by the SEE countries in reforming expenditure policies. The report identifies key remaining challenges and proposes a broad menu of options in further reforms of sectors that account for the largest shares of public spending across the countries, and where reforms are likely to have significant budgetary implications. This has motivated the choice of sectors discussed in the report: social protection (including pensions), health, education, public administration and infrastructure.
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“World Bank. 2007. Public Expenditure Policies in Southeast Europe. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8066 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Public Expenditure Policies in Southeast Europe(2008)This report reviews the level, composition and outcomes of government spending and distills some of the lessons that emerge from efforts by the Southeast Europe (SEE) countries in reforming expenditure policies. The report identifies key remaining challenges and proposes a broad menu of options in further reforms of sectors that account for the largest shares of public spending across the countries, and where reforms are likely to have significant budgetary implications. This has motivated the choice of sectors discussed in the report: social protection (including pensions), health, education, public administration, and infrastructure.Publication El Gasto Tributario en Colombia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-06-01)El presente estudio forma parte de un programa de servicios de conocimiento programático ofrecido por el Banco Mundial. 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The objective of the PER is to identify potential areas of further budget savings in public administration and the social sectors that could help restore fiscal balance, speed Latvia's recovery from the current crisis, and help it to meet the Maastricht Criteria by 2012 so it can adopt the Euro in 2014. The remainder of this volume is structured in the following way. Section two recounts the events and circumstances that set the Government's fiscal stance in the years prior to the crisis. Section three summarizes the principal emergency measures the Government took to cope during 2008 and 2009 as the crisis broke and led to Latvia's severe economic contraction. The purpose of these sections which draw liberally from material prepared by the financial authorities, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central (EC) is to make the case for further fiscal adjustment plain. 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Local authorities (municipalities and republican cities) play such a prominent role in the delivery of public services particularly social services that a close look at the character of their spending is critical.Publication Latvia - From Exuberance to Prudence : A Public Expenditure Review of Government Administration and the Social Sectors - Overview and Summary(World Bank, 2010-09-27)This public expenditure review (PER) was conducted at the request of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Latvia. The objective of the PER is to identify potential areas of further budget savings in public administration and the social sectors that could help restore fiscal balance, speed Latvia's recovery from the current crisis, and help it to meet the Maastricht Criteria by 2012 so it can adopt the Euro in 2014. The remainder of this volume is structured in the following way. 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Given the important role that municipalities and republican cities play in the delivery of social services, the chapter three of volume two provides an in depth examination of local government finances and spending. Local authorities (municipalities and republican cities) play such a prominent role in the delivery of public services particularly social services that a close look at the character of their spending is critical.Publication FYR Macedonia Public Expenditure Review(Washington, DC, 2008-02)Progress in advancing political and economic reforms has been substantial this decade. The authorities have moved with determination in implementing the Framework Agreement for Peace (the Ohrid Agreement) that ended the 2001 hostilities, including enhancing the representation of minorities in governmental structures. This, together with economic reforms and the implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union (EU), led the European Council to grant FYR Macedonia the status of a candidate country in December 2005. In 2003, the Government introduced a stabilization program focused on tighter fiscal policy and supported by the continuation of the de facto pegging of the exchange rate against the euro. The budget deficit was virtually eliminated in the first year of the program and in the subsequent years spending has been sharply reduced as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The fiscal adjustment helped improve financial stability and placed public debt ratios on a steadily declining path, with government debt amounting to about 30 percent of GDP at the end of 2006. The balance of payments has improved since 2003, and especially since 2005. In fact, FYR Macedonia has the smallest current account deficit in the region equivalent to 0.4 percent of GDP. A key challenge for the new Government is to adopt policies that will facilitate formalization of economic activity, including employment. In this context, the authorities are urged to explore options to reduce social security contribution rates, starting with the elimination of the minimum contribution threshold which represents an enormous disincentive for formal sector employment for low-wage and part-time workers.
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