Emerging economies in crisis typically request assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). After evaluating the situation, the IMF makes a loan available to the country conditional on certain policy reforms. Governments usually resist many of these measures and negotiation ensues....

Estonian authorities have made remarkable progress in a relatively short period of time by putting into place the elements of a modern budget process and fiscal management system. This progress is especially notable given the difficult circumstances the country has gone through in the transition...

Intergovernmental fiscal relations in the Russian Federation have evolved significantly since the onset of economic reforms in 1991. Since then, the Russian government has set out to replace the old Soviet system of expenditure norms and negotiated transfers with a more stable and transparent...

The current mechanism of fiscal equalization in the Russian Federation is complex, unstable and not transparent. In addition, it does not appear to be accomplishing its main goal: the equalization of funds among regions. While major reforms were introduced in 1994, serious problems remain in...