Fiscal Policy And Poverty Alleviation

Growth, poverty reduction, and social peace are all undermined when public expenditure management and taxation are weak and when the fiscal deficit and public debt are not managed successfully. And large-scale aid and debt relief cannot work without a good fiscal system. The macroeconomic frameworks of many poor countries are improving, but fiscal policy's full potential will not be realized until good and accountable expenditure and taxation systems are built. Good fiscal policy can raise economic growth through well-chosen public investments provided that the spending is large enough. Growth itself increases the tax base generating the potential for higher public spending on poverty reduction. Fiscal reform can be a tool for peace when an unfair distribution of spending and taxation generates grievances that turn violent. Overall, fiscal policy reveals more about the political priorities underpinning a country's development strategy than any other area of policymaking.

The effects of fiscal policy measures, both taxes and public spending, adopted by developing countries in response to the 2009 global crisis are still uncertain. This book discusses them using an analytical framework that allows for distilling possible implications on growth and social welfare.

Fiscal policy is critical to the development of poor countries. Public spending on pro-poor services and public goods must be increased, tax revenues must be mobilized, and macro-economic stabilization must be achieved without inhibiting growth, poverty reduction and post-conflict reconstruction. This book provides both a comprehensive and balanced guide to the current policy debate and new results on the development impact of fiscal policies. It is essential reading for students of development economics as well as all those seeking to improve policy-effectiveness.

This publication reviews Ecuador's fiscal management and public expenditure policies in the context of its development and poverty reduction goals. Findings include that the country's impressive fiscal performance of 2003 is encouraging but fragile, as several structural bottlenecks could impede fiscal discipline and recovery. Reversing poverty trends is critical for the country's stability, and this can only be achieved with well-targeted, effective and efficient pro-poor programmes.

Provides an understanding of economic policies for poverty reduction in developing countries. The policy areas include the various roles of government in ensuring the effective operation of a market economy, conducting fiscal policy, and influencing the money supply, exchange rates, and the financial sector.

This pamphlet excerpts a chapter on macroeconomic policy from the Poverty Reduction Policy Source book, a guide prepared by the World Bank and IMF to assist countries in developing and strengthening their poverty reduction strategies. It probes the relationship between macroeconomic policy matters, such as growth and inflation, and the fight against poverty, and explains how sound monetary and fiscal policies-key tools of the macroeconomist-can help to spur growth and ease poverty.