Browse by: "2010"
Index
Index par titre
Index par année
This paper describes the particular impacts of the financial and economic crisis on Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries; studies pro-cyclicality of fiscal policies; discusses the impact of the crisis on fiscal policy; and takes a look at the policy response of various governments. After drawing some lessons for fiscal policy from previous emerging market crises, the paper concludes with some thoughts on the appropriate policy response from a more normative perspective. The key message of the paper is that the crisis should be used as an opportunity to introduce reforms to avoid future pro-cyclical fiscal policies, to increase the quality of budgeting and to increase credibility. These reforms should include fiscal responsibility laws comprising medium-term fiscal frameworks, fiscal rules and independent fiscal councils. When fiscal consolidation is accompanied by fiscal reforms that increase credibility, non-Keynesian effects may offset the contraction caused by the consolidation to some extent. JEL classification: C32, E62, H60 Keywords: Crisis, budget policy, fiscal policy, Central and Eastern Europe, CEE, CESEE
As part of the growing search for more transparency and accountability in government finance, this article suggests guidelines for the production and dissemination of a citizens’ guide to the budget. Examples from a variety of countries help to illustrate why governments should publish an annual guide, what the contents and characteristics of a good guide should be, and how such a guide should be made accessible. JEL classification: H500, H600. Keywords: effective public accountability, transparent budgeting, open budgets, fiscal transparency, civil society, citizen participation, public oversight, public debate, access to information.
This article examines how the Chinese government came to endorse the concept of performance management, and analyses the experiments with performance management since the early 1990s (mainly at the local level). The incentives are examined, especially the performance-based reward and promotion system. The article discusses China’s experience with performance management in various sectors, including organisational restructuring and human resource management in the civil service, performance and results management and the “objective responsibility system”, and the attempts to improve accountability and performance in the delivery of public services. Citizen participation in performance management is also examined, and case studies of local practice.
Switzerland’s aid volume was USD 2.02 billion in 2008, an increase of more than 6% over the previous year, and a total of 0.42% of its gross national income (GNI). In 2008 it had already surpassed its Monterrey commitment to contribute 0.4% of its GNI to official development assistance (ODA) by 2010. Switzerland should adopt a 0.5% target for its aid, keeping in mind the 0.7% UN target. Switzerland has a long tradition of international assistance; its aid to humanitarian causes and multilateral donors serves as an example in good practice. Although Switzerland contributes to international thinking on governance and development in fragile situations, it faces challenges in implementing some of the international principles for making aid more effective, particularly in fragile states. Swiss aid is dispersed among too many countries and sectors, and it now strives to strengthen its focus. While welcoming the steps Switzerland has taken to reinforce its strategic approach to development co-operation, greater cohesion between the Ministries of Economic and Foreign Affairs would reduce duplication and transaction costs. In reforming its aid system, Switzerland will need to do more to set standards, monitor outcomes and assess impact of its development co operation programmes. Switzerland has made progress in bringing areas such as trade and the restitution of stolen assets in line with its commitments to development. It must build on such examples to ensure that all policies are coherent with its development aims. Switzerland must also strengthen efforts to communicate the positive results of aid in order to maintain strong public and political support.
Developing countries differ greatly in their potential for development and in the challenges they face. In one respect, however, many share a common problem: too little aid from too many donors. This report traces up to 3 700 aid relationships between all 151 aid recipient countries and the 46 largest donors, covering all members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the largest multilateral agencies. This complex reality is often referred to as fragmentation of aid. This 2009 report examines the concept of aid fragmentation across countries, and what has happened since the adoption of the Paris Declaration. It also proposes measures for concentration and fragmentation, and options for tackling excessive fragmentation. Where a donor-partner aid relation is not considered non-significant from either the donor’s or the recipient’s point of view, there is an opportunity for some rationalisation. This report shows that a decrease of 23% in the number of relationships is possible when only 4% of aid is reorganised. This reorganisation, in turn, would lead to an increase in the volume of the average donor-partner aid relation of 30%.
The Italian development co-operation is facing major challenges. The first is an urgent need to reform official development co-operation in the absence of political consensus on how to proceed. The second is that Italy will fail to meet its international commitment to increase official development assistance (ODA) to 0.51% of its gross national income (GNI) by 2010 and is unlikely to meet 0.7% by 2015. In 2008 Italy’s ODA/GNI ratio was 0.22. Despite the challenges remaining, there has been some improvement in Italian aid management since 2008. Italy intends to focus on 35 priority countries, the greater authority given to Italy’s embassies and technical offices to deliver and to contribute to formulating programmes and deliver aid, and the Steering Committee on Development Co-operation’s high level policy direction. Italy still needs a strategy for its development co-operation that is shared by all relevant government departments and regional and local authorities working towards common objectives: building systems to promote coherence between development co-operation and other policies; reforming human resource management for the core cadre of development experts; and regularly undertaking monitoring and independent evaluation. In addition, the limited political debate and public awareness about Italian development co-operation show there is an urgent need for the Italian authorities, together with civil society, to build popular support for development and public pressure for reforming Italian development co-operation.