Download or read book The Macroeconomics of Medium Term Aid Scaling Up Scenarios written by Jan Gottschalk and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2010-07-01 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We develop a model to analyze the macroeconomic effects of a scaling-up of aid and assess the implications of different policy responses. The model features key structural characteristics of low-income countries, including varying degrees of public investment efficiency and a learning-by-doing (LBD) externality that captures Dutch disease effects. On the policy front, it distinguishes between spending the aid, which is controlled by the fiscal authority, and absorbing the aid - financing a higher current account deficit - which is influenced by the central bank's reserve accumulation policies. We calibrate the model to Uganda and run several experiments. We find that a policy mix that results in full spending and absorption of aid can generate temporary demand and real exchange rate appreciation pressures, but also have a positive effect on real GDP in the medium term, through higher public capital. Full spending with partial absorption, on the other hand, may stem appreciation pressures but can also induce adverse medium-term real GDP effects, through private sector crowding out. When aid is very inefficiently invested and there are strong LBD externalities, aid can be harmful, and partial absorption policies may be justified. But in this case, a welfare improving solution is to defer spending or - even better if possible - raise its efficiency.
Download or read book Macroeconomic Challenges of Scaling Up Aid to Africa written by Yongzheng Yang and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2006-03-20 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the next decade, African countries are expected to be the largest beneficiaries of increased donor aid, which is intended to improve their prospects for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. This handbook will help these countries assess the macroeconomic implications of increased aid and respond to the associated policy challenges. The handbook is directed at policymakers, practicing economists in African countries, and the staffs of international financial institutions and donor agencies who participate in preparing medium-term strategies for African countries, including in the context of poverty reduction strategy papers. It provides five main guidelines for developing scaling-up scenarios to help countries identify important policy issues involved in using higher aid flows effectively: to absorb as much aid as possible, to boost growth in the short to medium term, to promote good governance and reduce corruption, to prepare an exit strategy should aid levels decrease, and to regularly reassess the policy mix.
Download or read book The Macroeconomic Challenges of Scaling Up Aid to Africa written by Yongzheng Yang and published by INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND. This book was released on 2005-09-01 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper surveys the economic literature on the scaling-up of aid to Africa. It provides a checklist of issues that need to be considered when preparing a long term macroeconomic projection for a country involving the assumption of a significant increase in aid. Such scaling-up scenarios are most likely to be developed in the context of a country's efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with the support of the international donor community. The paper stresses that when preparing a scaling-up scenario it is critical to have a detailed understanding of the likely use of additional aid flows.
Download or read book The Macroeconomic Challenges of Scaling Up Aid to Africa written by Yongzheng Yang and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2006 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the next decade, African countries are expected to be the largest beneficiaries of increased donor aid, which is intended to improve their prospects for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. This handbook will help these countries assess the macroeconomic implications of increased aid and respond to the associated policy challenges. the handbook is directed at policymakers, practicing economists in African countries, and the staffs of international financial institutions and donor agencies who participate in preparing medium-term strategies for African countries, including in the context of poverty reduction strategy papers. It provides five main guidelines for developing scaling-up scenarios to help countries identify important policy issues involved in using higher aid flows effectively: to absorb as much aid as possible, to boost growth in the short to medium term, to promote good governance and reduce corruption, to prepare an exit strategy should aid levels decrease, and to regularly reassess the policy mix.
Download or read book Managing Reductions in Aid Inflows Assessing Policy Choices in Haiti written by Ioana Moldovan and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A low-income country such as Haiti that confronts an environment of diminishing aid inflows must assess tradeoffs among the available policy options: spending cuts, monetization, sales of debt, or use of foreign reserves. To provide the analytical tools for this task, the paper draws from a set of DSGE models recently developed to evaluate policy choices in low-income countries for which external aid flows represent an important revenue source. Two simplified stylized variations of the main model are used to gain intuition and initially assess the trdeaoffs. Subsequenctly a full-scale small open economy DSGE model, calibrated to match conditions in Haiti and in similar low-income countries, is employed. Several key results are common to all model versions. While sales of foreign exchange reserves can compensate for the loss of aid inflows, this strategy is not sustainable. The remaining policy choices entail larger welfare costs, involving lower consumption levels and real depreciation. The results suggest that a mixture of spending cuts and depreciation is the best strategy, when use of foreign reserves is constrained.
Download or read book The Macroeconomics of Scaling up Aid written by International Working Group of Sovereign Wealth Funds and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2008-09-19 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September 2007, the UN Secretary General launched the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Africa Steering and Working Groups. The Steering Group brings together the leaders of multilateral institutions to identify practical steps needed for Africa to achieve the MDGs. The Managing Director of the IMF is a member of the Steering Group. The Working Group supports the Steering Group and is comprised of thematic groups in education, agriculture, health, infrastructure and trade facilitation, statistics, aid predictability, and MDG operationalization at the country level. The following three notes assess the macroeconomic implications of the spending of scaled-up aid to Benin, Niger, and Togo in line with that promised by the G-8 at Gleneagles, Scotland in 2005.
Download or read book External Assessments in Special Cases written by Anna Ter-Martirosyan and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-01-17 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: External Assessments in Special Cases presents the pilot External Balances Assessment methodology developed by IMF staff for estimating current account and exchange rate gaps for a group of advanced and emerging market economies, and discusses modifications to take account of special cases. Different approaches to external assessments for countries with special circumstances are evaluated, and some tools presented that could be used to inform sound judgment on the part of those conducting such assessments.
Download or read book Burkina Faso written by International Monetary Fund and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2012-07-02 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This 2011 Article IV Consultation and the Third Review Under the Extended Credit Facility for Burkina Faso highlights that the authorities have maintained fiscal consolidation efforts while mitigating the impact of exogenous shocks. Executive Directors have welcomed the authorities’ sustained implementation of sound policies and structural reforms, which has contributed to robust economic growth, low inflation, and a broadly favorable external position. Directors have encouraged the authorities to maintain fiscal discipline within the context of a medium-term fiscal framework while increasing investment and social spending.
Download or read book In the Wake of the Global Economic Crisis written by Mr.Thomson Fontaine and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is facing its biggest challenge in its 100 years of existence. The global economic crisis has significantly reduced its revenue outlook, which is having a disproportionate impact on its smaller member countries, and which calls for an appropriate policy response. This paper discusses specifically the implications for Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland, and provides recommendations regarding the proper fiscal response by these countries to the decline in SACU revenue.
Download or read book Macroeconomic Policy Frameworks for Resource Rich Developing Countries Analytic Frameworks and Applications written by International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2012-08-24 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This supplement presents the analytical frameworks underlying the IMF’s staff’s enhanced policy analysis and advice to resource-rich developing countries (RRDCs). The proposed macro-fiscal models, which are applied to selected country or regional cases, are aimed at addressing questions regarding how to deal with resource revenue uncertainty and how to scale up spending within relevant frameworks that ensure fiscal and external sustainability while addressing absorptive capacity constraints. The country applications confirm the importance attached by both IMF staff and country authorities of using the appropriate macro-fiscal frameworks to address the specific challenges faced by RRDCs.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics written by Célestin Monga and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-07-02 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A popular myth about the travails of Africa holds that the continent's long history of poor economic performance reflects the inability of its leaders and policymakers to fulfill the long list of preconditions to be met before sustained growth can be achieved. These conditions are said to vary from the necessary quantity and quality of physical and human capital to the appropriate institutions and business environments. While intellectually charming and often elegantly formulated, that conventional wisdom is actually contradicted by historical evidence and common sense. It also suggests a form of intellectual mimicry that posits a unique path to prosperity for all countries regardless of their level of development and economic structure. In fact, the argument underlining that reasoning is tautological, and the policy prescriptions derived from it are fatally teleological: low-income countries are by definition those where such ingredients are missing. None of today's high-income countries started its growth process with the "required" and complete list of growth ingredients. Unless one truly believes that the continent of Africa-and most developing countries-are ruled predominantly if not exclusively by plutocrats with a high propensity for sadomasochism, the conventional view must be re-examined, debated, and questioned. This volume-the second of the lOxford Handbook of Africa and Economics-reassesses the economic policies and practices observed across the continent since independence. It offers a collection of analyses by some of the leading economists and development thinkers of our time, and reflects a wide range of perspectives and viewpoints. Africa's emergence as a potential economic powerhouse in the years and decades ahead amply justifies the scope and ambition of the book.
Download or read book The Macroeconomic and Distributional Effects of Public Investment in Developing Economies written by Davide Furceri and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2017-10-20 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper provides new empirical evidence of the macroeconomic effects of public investment in developing economies. Using public investment forecast errors to identify unanticipated changes in public investment, the paper finds that increased public investment raises output in the short and medium term, with an average short-term fiscal multiplier of about 0.2. We find some evidence that the effects are larger: (i) during periods of slack; (ii) in economies operating with fixed exchange rate regimes; (iii) in more closed economies; (iv) in countries with lower public debt; and (v) in countries with higher investment efficiency. Finally, we show that increases in public investment tend to lower income inequality.
Download or read book Investing in Public Infrastructure written by Manoj Atolia and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2017-05-04 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do governments in developing economies invest in roads and not enough in schools? In the presence of distortionary taxation and debt aversion, the different pace at which roads and schools contribute to economic growth turns out to be central to this decision. Specifically, while costs are front-loaded for both types of investment, the growth benefits of schools accrue with a delay. To put things in perspective, with a “big push,” even assuming a large (15 percent) return differential in favor of schools, the government would still limit the fraction of the investment scale-up going to schools to about a half. Besides debt aversion, political myopia also turns out to be a crucial determinant of public investment composition. A “big push,” by accelerating growth outcomes, mitigates myopia—but at the expense of greater risks to fiscal and debt sustainability. Tied concessional financing and grants can potentially mitigate the adverse effects of both debt aversion and political myopia.
Download or read book Islamic Republic of Afghanistan written by International Monetary Fund. Research Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2016-02-11 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ex Post Assessment aims to provide a frank review of progress during the 2006 and 2011 programs, and a forward-looking assessment that takes into account lessons learned. It begins by providing the background and context for the two programs. It then discusses their overall objectives, how the programs were designed to achieve these objectives, and program performance. After outlining the key issues, it concludes with some lessons, including for Afghanistan's future engagement with the IMF. Since late 2001, after NATO forces toppled the Taliban, the country received unprecedented support from the donor community in the context of two IMF-supported programs.
Download or read book Money Isn t Everything written by Mr.Todd D. Mattina and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2006-08-01 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper outlines the challenge of developing an operational macroeconomic framework in Ethiopia consistent with the large envisaged scaling up of aid to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This paper describes an MDG scenario that addresses both microeconomic and macroeconomic constraints, such as the need to boost sustainable growth, limit Dutch disease, formulate an exit strategy from aid dependency, enhance public financial management (PFM), and expand the supply of skilled labor. The paper will argue that a carefully sequenced MDG strategy is essential so that the scaled-up aid and public spending will remain in line with Ethiopia's absorptive capacity.
Download or read book Walking a Fine Line written by Ms.Malangu Kabedi-Mbuyi and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2016-04-11 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper analyzes the macroeconomics of scaling up public investment in Burkina Faso under alternative financing options, including through foreign aid and a combination of tax adjustment and borrowing. Our findings are twofold: (1) raising official development assistance in line with the Gleneagles agreement provides scope for financing public investment at low cost and would have positive, but somewhat moderate, effects on aggregate output—the growth dividends in the nontradables sector would be partially offset by the Dutch disease in the tradables sector; and (2) the massive investment scaling-up contemplated under Burkina Faso’s “accelerated growth” strategy, while boosting medium- and long-term growth, would lead to unsustainable debt dynamics under a plausible tax adjustment and realistic concessional financing. A more gradual approach to closing Burkina Faso’s infrastructure gap is therefore desirable because it would take into account the needed time for the country to address its capacity constraints and to further improve investment efficiency.
Download or read book Government Spending Effects in Low income Countries written by Ms.Wenyi Shen and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2015-12-30 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the voluminous literature on fiscal policy, very few papers focus on low-income countries (LICs). This paper develops a new-Keynesian small open economy model to show, analytically and through simulations, that some of the prevalent features of LICs—different types of financing including aid, the marginal efficiency of public investment, and the degree of home bias—play a key role in determining the effects of fiscal policy and related multipliers in these countries. External financing like aid increases the resource envelope of the economy, mitigating the private sector crowding out effects of government spending and pushing up the output multiplier. The same external financing, however, tends to appreciate the real exchange rate and as a result, traded output can respond quite negatively, reducing the overall output multiplier. Although capital scarcity implies high returns to public capital in LICs, declines in public investment efficiency can substantially dampen the output multiplier. Since LICs often import substantial amounts of goods, public investment may not be as effective in stimulating domestic production in the short run.
