Suchergebnisse

This paper discusses the design of tax systems in developing countries, with particular emphasis on low-income countries. It outlines the directions of reform that many lowincome countries have followed, often on the advice of the IMF or the World Bank, and considers whether they are justified in terms of theory and the practical constraints in low-income countries. Discussion of tax theory shows that there are sound reasons for much of the tax reform advice that is given, but it provides rather little support for the policy of full tax neutrality that is frequently recommended for developing countries. However, there are also serious political economy arguments against tax nonuniformity. The paper therefore concludes that the design of tax policy must also consider the strength of institutions and the rule of law. – taxation ; fiscal policy

This paper presents twelve budget institutions that can support planning and delivery ofcredible fiscal strategies in the fiscal policy-making process. The resulting framework is applied to seven low-income countries and the status of their budget institutions compared to the G-20 advanced and emerging market economies. The paper then presents recommendations for designing and implementing appropriate fiscal strategy for low- income countries. Particular attention is paid to prioritization and sequencing of reformefforts

This paper offers a coherent empirical analysis of the determinants of the real exchange rate, the current account, and the net foreign assets position in low income countries. The paper focuses on indicators specific to low income countries, such as the quality of policies and institutions, the special access to official external financing, and the role of shocks. In addition to more standard factors, we find that domestic financial liberalization is associated with higher current account balances and net foreign asset positions, while capital account liberalization is associated with lower c

This paper documents the expanding economic linkages between low-income countries (LICs) and a narrow group of ""Emerging Market leaders"" that have become major players in regional and global trade and financial flows. VAR models show that these linkages have increased the share of growth volatility that can be attributed to foreign shocks in LICs. Dynamic panel models further analyze the impact of LIC trade orientation and production structure on the sensitivity to foreign shocks. The empirical results demonstrate that the elasticity of growth to trading partners' growth is high for LICs in

Cover -- Contents -- I. Introduction -- II. Hypotheses -- III. Empirical Methodology -- A. Identification of Debt Distress Episodes -- B. Explanatory Variables -- C. Econometric Specification -- IV. Results -- A. Estimation Results: Benchmark Specifications -- B. Goodness of Fit -- C. The Threshold Probability Analysis -- D. Marginal Effects of Explanatory Variables on the Probability of Debt Distress -- V. Concluding Remarks -- References -- Appendix I. PPG External Debt Thresholds in the IMF-World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework -- Appendix II. External Debt Distress Episodes and the Identification Criteria -- Appendix III. Variables Used in the Probit Regressions -- Appendix IV. Standard Deviations of Policy Variables in the MI Index -- Appendix V. The List of Countries -- Appendix VI. Indicators of Model Fit for the KN regressions -- Figures -- 1. Identification of Normal Episodes -- 2. Threshold Probability Analysis -- 3. Model I: Counterfactual Simulations-Effects of Explanatory Variables on the Probability of Debt Distress -- Tables -- 1. Estimation Results: Determinants of Probability of Debt Distress in LICs (PV of PPG external debt/GDP) -- 2. Marginal Effects of Explanatory Variables on Crisis Probability (Benchmark 1) -- 3. Marginal Effects of Explanatory Variables on Crisis Probability (Benchmark 2) -- 4. Estimation Results: Determinants of Probability of Debt Distress in LICs (PV of PPG external debt/exports) -- 5. Estimation Results: Determinants of Probability of Debt Distress in LICs (PPG external debt service/exports) -- 6. Predicted Probabilities (Percentiles), (PV of PPG external debt/GDP) -- 7. Predicted Probabilities (Percentiles), (PV of PPG external debt/exports) -- 8. Predicted Probabilities (Percentiles), (PPG external debt service/exports) -- 9. Threshold Probabilities and Model Fit Across Different Specifications.

The history of people with disabilities has been dominated by their isolation and exclusion. The long fight towards inclusion - and inclusive education in particular - started not many years ago. Most were powerless to control their own destiny. Their participation in society has been the object of others actions. In many countries their disability policies have a substantial element of protection and charity but not the right to equalisation of opportunities. This book highlights the process of change that is underway internationally. The equalisation of opportunities requires new processes t

Abstract
We quantitatively investigate the welfare costs of increasing tax revenues in low-income countries. We consider three tax instruments: consumption, labour income and capital income taxes. The analysis is based on a general equilibrium model featuring heterogeneous agents, incomplete financial markets, and rural and urban areas. We calibrate the model to Ethiopia and decompose the welfare costs into their aggregate and distributional components. We find that changing taxes alter the composition of demand. This, together with limited labour mobility, causes the incidence of higher taxes to fall disproportionately on the rural population, regardless of the instrument. Consumption taxes are the instrument with the largest welfare loss.