The book assesses the current state of Russia's regional and local fiscal relations, and self-government, and analyzes the related reforms undertaken over the past decade. The analysis is based on the kind of first-hand experience and in-depth knowledge of Russian intergovernmental reforms that...

While there is extensive knowledge about how to design fiscal decentralization policies, considerably less is understood about how a decentralization program should be sequenced and implemented. Countries embarking on decentralization often struggle with decisions about the essential components...

Climate change will pose a major challenge for humanity in future decades. Central to the policy debate are its implications for the public finances and the conduct of fiscal policy more generally. This editorial outlines the budgetary effects, the regulatory and standard-setting challenges,...

This paper analyzes the trends and evolution of public spending in the agriculture sector in Indonesia, as well as the impact of public spending on agricultural growth. It finds that, in line with empirical work undertaken in other countries, public spending on agriculture and irrigation during...

International migration is intimately intertwined with issues of taxation, inequality and public welfare benefits, both in home and destination countries. In home countries the emigration of workers, especially high-skilled workers, is often perceived to create a fiscal loss due to the cost of...

The goal of this paper is to understand better, at the empirical level, how public spending contributes to growth by focusing on both the level and composition of public spending, in connection to the dynamics of GDP per capita growth. It attempts to answer two specific questions: (a) What are...

Although many studies indicate that both the level and composition of public spending are significant for economic growth, the results in the empirical literature are still mixed. This paper studies the importance of country sample selection and expenditure classification in explaining these...

One of the important factors for economic development is the existence of an effective tax system. This paper deals with the concept and empirical estimation of countries' taxable capacity and tax effort. It employs a cross-country study from a sample of 110 developing and developed countries...

This paper provides an overview of the various channels through which public infrastructure may affect growth. In addition to the conventional productivity, complementarity, and crowding-out effects typically emphasized in the literature, the impact of infrastructure on investment adjustment...

Development practitioners have been working for half a century to help pull millions of people out of poverty, disease, and fear. However, the challenge of poverty remains enormous. The disparity in levels of income, health, and education across countries grows greater, even as levels of...