Fiscal transparency is a vital requirement for effective fiscal policymaking. Budgets, including their underlying fiscal forecasts, must provide a clear statement of the government’s budgetary objectives and policy intentions. Credible budgets also require comprehensive, timely, and reliable...

Transparency and accountability in sector governance are basic and essential requirements to leverage the extractives (oil, gas, and mining) sector as an engine of economic growth in fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) affected settings. Enabling them involves two vital steps. Transparency...

The extractive industries (EI) sector occupies an outsize space in the economies of many developing countries. Economists, public finance professionals, and policy makers working in such countries are frequently confronted with issues that require an in-depth understanding of the sector. The...

The Mashreq region and, in particular, the countries of Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon are facing major policy and fiscal challenges to growth and job creation. The Maximizing Finance for Development (MFD) approach aims to optimize the relationship between the public and the private sector.It would...

The PIM Assessment resulted in the establishment of an Action Plan to strengthen the system. Given weak institutional capacity and limited resources, the Plan should include quick-win options where possible, particularly in the early recovery phase. Evidence shows that the process by which...

A government's provision of complementary public goods, such as roads and bridges, facilitates the development of markets leading to long-term economic growth. Private enterprise, by itself, is unlikely to provide such public works. Likewise, a government's investment in social infrastructure,...

The development of a regulatory framework which meets international standards is a major concern in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as it is key not only to fostering economic development but also to ensuring the wellbeing of its citizens. To achieve this goal, it is important...