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Business and Economics > Public Finance

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Kosovo: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper highlights recent trends in the Kosovo labor market and emigration. Like other Western Balkan countries, Kosovo experienced a sharp decline in population over the previous decade, as emigration increased. Using a structural model of the labor market and migration, the paper examines the potential impact of further EU integration. While lower migration costs hurt the economy, productivity convergence brought on by EU integration has an offsetting impact by increasing wages, lowering unemployment, and increase immigration. Policy simulations show that policymakers have a diverse set of tools—including structural reforms, active labor market policies, business support, and labor participation support—to boost potential and support the labor market. A key result from the policy simulations is that, while the policies target various stages of the labor market, they have similar macroeconomic impacts. In this regard, it is important for policymakers to focus on policies with the largest potential impact relative to the cost of implementation. Additionally, policies should be combined with careful monitoring and updating to ensure that they remain effective and efficient.
Keywords:
gender wage gap; ECB monetary policy PASSTHROUGH; EU integration; women wage; ECB policy rate Passthrough; wage gender gap; Pensions; Pension spending; Labor markets; Digitalization; Public employment; Europe; Global; Western Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Moldova: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper discusses opportunities and challenges of climate adaptation policies in Moldova. Strengthening resilience to natural disasters will require significant adaptation investments in the coming years. This paper shows that such investments can substantially reduce output losses caused by natural disasters, will be more cost-efficient than responding to disasters ex-post, and will contribute to boost Moldova’s long-term economic growth and support its development objectives. However, due to limited domestic financial resources in a complex economic environment, Moldova cannot finance the most-needed adaptation investments without endangering public debt sustainability or hindering its growth potential. Therefore, external support will be critical to help meet the adaptation needs.
Keywords:
quantifying Adaptation investment; Adaptation gap; macro impact; debt financing of Adaptation investment; economic growth in Moldova; Corruption; Infrastructure; Climate change; Natural disasters; Europe; Global; Eastern Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Romania: 2023 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report; IMF Country Report No. 23/395
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This 2023 Article IV Consultation discusses that Romania has weathered the economic shocks from the pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the resulting surges in energy and food prices relatively well. Growth is expected to recover modestly in 2024, and to return to its potential rate in the medium term, but there are substantial risks. A weak fiscal position renders Romania vulnerable. The scope to respond to adverse developments is circumscribed by a structural budget deficit well in excess of sustainable levels. The recently adopted fiscal package offers welcome improvements in tax policy and should help reduce the fiscal deficit somewhat in 2024; but more will be needed. Announcing further tax reforms well in advance will help companies and households adjust to these changes. In addition, monetary policy should not be relaxed until core inflation is on a firm downward path as needed for returning headline inflation within the tolerance band by early 2025. There is significant room to underpin real income growth and further convergence with Western Europe. This requires investment in physical infrastructure as well as people, and strengthening the efficiency of the state.
Keywords:
electricity production; cash budget; growth potential; growth trajectory; budgetary funds; monetary policy effectiveness; fund office; potential GDP; office in Bucharest; liability positions vis-à-vis nonresident; Inflation; Fiscal consolidation; Government debt management; Wages; Europe; Western Europe; Global; Eastern Europe
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
Gender and Revenue Administration: Principles and Practices
Ms. Katherine Baer
,
Ms. Margaret Cotton
,
Elizabeth Gavin
,
Cindy Negus
, and
Katrina R Williams
This technical note provides an overview of current issues and ideas that revenue administrations can consider regarding gender equality. It discusses the interactions between revenue administrations and gender equality and explores how revenue administrations can administer gender-sensitive tax laws effectively and apply a gender lens when administering tax or trade laws with a view to reducing barriers for women’s employment, entrepreneurship, and trade. It also provides practical considerations for a revenue administration in building gender perspectives in reform plans and shares several examples that highlight targeted measures that have led to positive outcomes in several countries.
Keywords:
fiscal reform; gender equality; gender-sensitive tax laws; inclusive growth; revenue administration; revenue recovery; sustainable growth; gender lens; sex discrimination-law; administering tax; staff distribution; administration staff; Women; Gender inequality; Gender diversity; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Rising Child Poverty in Europe: Mitigating the Scarring from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Mr. Jean-Jacques Hallaert
,
Iglika Vassileva
, and
Tingyun Chen
Child poverty increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 alone, the number of children suffering from poverty in the EU increased by 19 percent, or close to 1 million. Left unaddressed, this would not only affect individuals’ life prospects and well-being but also have long-term economic implications. This paper argues that, to limit this potential scarring effect of the pandemic, policies should be deployed to reduce rapidly the number of children affected by poverty and mitigate the long-term impact of poverty. Reducing the number of children affected by poverty can be achieved by (i) labor policies and reforms that increase parental work and the labor income of poor parents and (ii) fiscal spending on family and children that can have a powerful and immediate impact. These policies need to be complemented by public investment in education and childcare, health, and housing to mitigate the long-term impact of child poverty.
Keywords:
child poverty; EU assistance; scarring effect; C. measuring poverty; summary plot; labor income; COVID-19; Income; Poverty reduction; Social protection spending; Europe
Cover Technical Notes and Manuals
The Corruption Cost Tracker: An Online Tool to Assess Corruption Risks in Public Procurement
Olivier Basdevant
and
Mihaly Fazekas
This TNM addresses the assessment of corruption risks in public procurement and their impact on relative prices. The note presents the Corruption Cost Tracker, an online tool complementing the analysis presented in Abdou and others (2022). The Corruption Cost Tracker enables policymakers and stakeholders to address corruption risks in public procurement. It is an interactive online tool, with dashboards for Corruption Risk Analysis, Spending Analysis, Efficiency Gains, and Policy Scenarios.
Keywords:
public procurement; corruption; corruption risks; procurement cost; corruption cost tracker; corruption risk index; assessment of corruption; country overview page; IMF Library; COVID-19; Total expenditures
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Moldova: First Reviews Under the Extended Credit Facility, and Requests for Modification of Performance Criteria and Inflation Consultation Clause-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Republic of Moldova
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
Moldova’s economy is projected to stagnate in 2022 amid spillovers from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war in Ukraine continues to weigh heavily on Moldova, although some initial pressures have subsided. Bank deposit net withdrawals came to an end and are now steadily being replenished. The leu depreciated by about 8 percent so far while pressures on foreign reserves have eased. About 550,000 refugees fleeing the war (representing more than 20 percent of the Moldovan population) have transited through Moldova, with about a fifth remaining in the country. Driven by rising food and energy prices, inflation accelerated further above the target band.
Keywords:
General government budget; Policy discussion; program implementation; policy effectiveness; inflation consultation clause; governance reform; Inflation; Energy prices; Budget planning and preparation; Import prices; Credit; Global; Central and Eastern Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Romania: 2022 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Romania
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
After a solid recovery from the pandemic, Romania is now, like other EU countries, facing strong headwinds related to the war in Ukraine. Output reached pre-crisis levels in H1 2021 and growth in Q1 2022 was strong. But inflation has risen rapidly, and the external and fiscal positions are weak. The authorities are implementing a support package of energy price caps and subsidies for vulnerable groups.
Keywords:
inflation expectation; EU membership; inflation outlook; EU accession; EU funds; cap scheme; Inflation; Fiscal stance; Energy prices; Consumer price indexes; Europe; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Romania: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
Selected Issues
Keywords:
assessment of the size; Consumer Goods import; Policy recommendation; regional disparity; policy recommendation; Current account; Current account deficits; Current account balance; External balance assessment (EBA); Western Europe; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Romania: Technical Assistance Report on Improving Revenues from the Recurrent Property Tax
International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
This paper highlights Romania’s Technical Assistance report on improving revenues from the recurrent property tax. The current area-based property tax system in Romania is inefficient, producing revenue below its potential, while the taxable value determination is inequitable and complex. The best guiding principle for the property tax reform is to remind taxpayers that a property tax is in the first instance a benefit tax. Comprehensive property tax reform is complex, requiring both political and technical coordination, informed by realistic timelines. In respect of a recurrent property tax, there are two broad approaches to determine a taxable amount. The first approach—value-based assessment—utilizes methods and techniques that rely on market transactions to inform the value of property. It is generally agreed amongst experts that where it is possible to use the market-value approach in practice, since it provides the better, more buoyant, and more equitable tax base. A value-based assessment tends to better differentiate the tax burden between low-income and high-income households—accounting better for ability-to-pay or vertical equity.
Keywords:
property tax reform; real property; VALUE-BASED property tax; tax rate; property tax exemption; property tax system; property tax basis; Property tax; Land tax; Real estate prices; Asset valuation; Africa; Eastern Europe