Social Science > Demography

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Sofronis Clerides
,
Maria Delgado Coelho
,
Alexander D Klemm
, and
Christos Kotsogiannis
This paper discusses under what circumstances residence and citizenship by investment (RBI or CBI) schemes could be used by individuals engaging in tax avoidance or evasion. It describes the market for CBI and RBI and how features of the offered programs might reveal the underlying motivations of governments offering them. The paper then presents empirical evidence on the conditions under which such schemes are offered. Finally, the paper estimates the impact of such schemes on investment, house prices, and public revenues.
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper discusses the impact of workforce aging on productivity in the euro area. The euro area population has aged considerably over the past few decades, and the process is expected to accelerate in the years ahead. At the same time, labor productivity growth in the euro area has been sluggish, posing risks to long-term growth prospects. It is estimated that workforce aging could significantly retard total factor productivity (TFP) growth over the medium to long term. Given current demographic projections from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the aging of the workforce in the euro area could lower TFP growth by about 0.2 percentage points each year between 2014 and 2035. Appropriate policies can, however, mitigate the adverse effects of aging.
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This paper reviews two main issues pertaining to Austrian economy: (1) Austria's long-term fiscal sustainability in light of current tax and expenditure trends, and (2) Austria's macroeconomic challenges and opportunities due to immigration. To maintain fiscal sustainability over the longer run, Austria needs to implement a strategy based on structural expenditure consolidation. Attention to the structure of Austrian taxes and expenditure is germane because this displays important differences vis-á-vis European peers. In 2015, Austria has recorded about 90,000 asylum applicants, making it one of the top three host countries relative to its population. Austria attracts immigrant populations that improve the characteristics of its labor force.
Mr. Shekhar Aiyar
,
Ms. Bergljot B Barkbu
,
Nicoletta Batini
,
Mr. Helge Berger
,
Ms. Enrica Detragiache
,
Allan Dizioli
,
Mr. Christian H Ebeke
,
Ms. Huidan Huidan Lin
,
Ms. Linda Kaltani
,
Mr. Sebastian Sosa
,
Mr. Antonio Spilimbergo
, and
Petia Topalova
Against the background of political turmoil in the Middle-East, Europe faces an unprecedented surge in asylum applications. In analyzing the economic impact of this inflow, this paper draws from the experience of previous economic migrants and refugees, mindful of the fact that the characteristics of economic migrants can be different from refugees. In the short-run, additional public expenditure will provide a small positive impact on GDP, concentrated in the main destination countries of Germany, Sweden and Austria. Over the longer-term, depending on the speed and success of the integration of refugees in the labor market, the increase in the labor force can have a more lasting impact on growth and the public finances. Here good policies will make an important difference. These include lowering barriers to labor markets for refugees, for example through wage subsidies to employers, and, in particular, reducing legal barriers to labor market participation during asylum process, removing obstacles to entrepreneurship/self-employment, providing job training and job search assistance, as well as language skills. While native workers often have legitimate concerns about the impact of immigrants on wages and employment, past experience indicates that any adverse effects are limited and temporary.
International Monetary Fund
This paper reviews past trends in public pension spending and provides projections for 27 advanced and 25 emerging economies over 2011–2050. In constructing these projections, the paper incorporates the impact of recent pension reforms and highlights the key assumptions underlying these projections and associated risks. The paper also presents reform options to address future pension spending pressures in the advanced and emerging economies. These reforms—mainly increasing retirement ages, reducing replacement rates, or increasing payroll taxes—are discussed in the context of their role in fiscal consolidation, and their implications for both equity and economic growth. In addition, the paper examines the challenge of emerging economies of expanding coverage in a fiscally sustainable manner
International Monetary Fund
Austria’s recession had limited effects on unemployment. Investment declined sharply but consumption helped cushion the recession, supported by tax cuts and various labor market measures together with large increases in real wages. Austria’s fiscal position has weakened significantly in recent years, although to a lesser extent than the euro area average. The authorities’ plan to embark on a decisive fiscal consolidation path is welcomed. They recognized, however, that reducing the share of foreign exchange loans, while providing continued financing to central and southeastern Europe, will be challenging.
International Monetary Fund
This Selected Issues paper focuses on the medium-term budgetary framework (MTBF) for Austria. Austria is part of a trend among many countries to consider some form of MTBF. This paper describes the proposed framework in Austria and assesses it in light of the experience of other countries. The general conclusion is that the track records are mixed, but that, on balance, the experiences with MTBFs have been favorable. The paper also examines the long-term fiscal challenges arising from demographic change.
International Monetary Fund
This Selected Issues paper analyzes the growth prospects of the Greek economy. It is estimated that exceptional factors boosted growth by 1 percentage point per year in recent years and, under current trends and policies, growth is likely to drop to about 3 percent by the end of the decade. The paper places the recent strong growth performance of the Greek economy in a historical and international context. It also assesses the impact of exceptional factors on growth, and presents statistical estimates of potential growth.
Mr. David Hauner
Projections of age-related public expenditure growth have raised widespread concerns about fiscal sustainability. This paper examines how total expenditure would develop under four policy rules on public expenditure growth. Some simple arithmetic of expenditure, GDP, and population is reviewed and applied in simulations for 19 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) over 2000-50. A general and a specific conclusion arise from the results in this paper: Generally, long-term expenditure projections could benefit from revisiting common assumptions on non-agerelated expenditure growth. Specifically, under realistic assumptions, the belt-tightening required to maintain fiscal sustainability under age-related spending pressures could be less painful than commonly thought.