Despite the growing body of literature examining the effectiveness of transparency and accountability initiatives, there remains limited substantiation for whether and how open budgeting contributes to reductions in poverty and improvements in the lives of the poor. This paper reviews available...

This paper discusses the role of fiscal policy and fiscal institutions in managing scaled-up aid. In an environment of volatile scaled-up aid, fiscal policy formulation should be anchored in medium-term frameworks, incorporating a longer-term view of potential resource availability and spending...

This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic performance of Benin has been relatively subdued since 2003 after a decade of high growth. Slow economic growth has reflected limited progress in addressing core economic vulnerabilities and delays in implementing crucial...

This Financial System Stability Assessment on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) examines macroeconomic and financial sector developments. The banking sector as a whole shows comfortable levels of capitalization and profits, having benefited from the rapid expansion of the economy and a steady...

This report provides an assessment of fiscal transparency practices in Hungary in relation to the requirements of the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency. The report reveals that Hungary has increased its level of transparency in a number of areas since the last fiscal Report on...

The Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency applies the principles of the revised IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency (‘the Code’) to the unique set of transparency problems faced by countries that derive a significant share of their revenues from natural resources and need to...

This Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes assesses Fiscal Transparency for Barbados. The report reveals that Barbados has a number of good practices on fiscal transparency including a legal requirement to publish the budget Estimates, the annual report of the accountant general, and...