Public Finance for Poverty Reduction

Description

This book presents some basic theoretical concepts of public finance with a particular emphasis on its impact poverty reduction. Eight case studies from Latin America and Africa illustrate how these concepts are applied in practice and the implementation issues that emerge.

Sujets

• World Bank

Informations

• Publié par: world-bank-publications
• Publié le: 06 novembre 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 20
• EAN13: 9780821368275
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

DIRECTIONS IN DEVELOPMENT
Poverty
Public Finance for
Poverty Reduction
Concepts and Case Studies from
Africa and Latin America
Blanca Moreno-Dodson and Quentin Wodon,
EditorsPublic Finance for Poverty ReductionPublic Finance
for Poverty Reduction
Concepts and Case Studies from
Africa and Latin America
Edited by
Blanca Moreno-Dodson
Quentin Wodon
THE WORLD BANK
Washington, DC©2008 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
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Washington DC 20433
Telephone: [phone]
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All rights reserved
1 2 3 4 10 09 08 07
This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development /
The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessar-
ily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent.
The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The bound-
aries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any
judgement on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement
or acceptance of such boundaries.
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ISBN: 978-0-8213-6826-8
eISBN: 978-0-8213-6827-5
DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-6826-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Public finance for poverty reduction : concepts and case studies from Africa and Latin America /
edited by Quentin Wodon, Blanca Moreno-Dodson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8213-6826-8 -- ISBN 978-0-8213-6827-5 (electronic)
1. Finance, Public--Developing countries. 2. Poverty--Government policy--Africa--Case studies.
3. Poverty--Government policy--Latin America--Case studies. 4. Africa--Social policy--Case studies.
5. Latin America--Social policy--Case studies. I. Wodon, Quentin. II. Moreno-Dodson, Blanca.
HJ1620.P826 2007
339.4'6091724--dc22 2007025942
Cover design by Quantum Think, Inc.
Cover photo by Richard Lord.This work is dedicated to
Richard Musgrave
The Father of Modern Public Finance
(1910–2007)
Professor Musgrave was convinced that governments have
an important economic role to play, and that taxes and
public expenditures can be used to improve social welfare.
He served as a senior adviser to many governments, especially in
Latin America and Asia. One of the editors of this book
[B. Moreno-Dodson] was privileged to meet him at the
International Institute of Public Finance Congress
and to benefit from his wisdom on critical
public finance issues.
His legacy will endure.Contents
Foreword xvii
Preface xxi
Abbreviations xxiii
Chapter 1 Public Finance for Poverty Reduction: 1
An Overview
Blanca Moreno-Dodson and Quentin Wodon
Rationale for the Role of Government 2
Limits to Government Intervention in 4
Developing Countries
Structure of the Book 8
The Way Forward: Topics for Future Study 14
Conclusion 15
Notes 15
References 16
viiviii Public Finance for Poverty Reduction
Part One Concepts in Public Finance: Debt, Taxation, 19
Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys, and Benefit
Incidence Analysis
Chapter 2 Debt Sustainability for Low-Income Countries: 21
A Review of Standard and Alternative Concepts
Danny Cassimon, Blanca Moreno-Dodson, and
Quentin Wodon
Traditional Approaches to Debt Sustainability: 24
A Brief Review
Operationalizing Debt Sustainability Concepts: 36
The HIPC Initiative
Alternative Approaches to Analyzing Debt 40
Sustainability
Conclusion 47
Notes 51
References 52
Chapter 3 Revenue Design and Taxation 57
Eric M. Zolt
Objectives of Tax Systems 58
Criteria for Evaluating Taxes 61
Aggregate Level of Taxes 69
Relative Use of Different Tax Instruments 71
Effectiveness of Tax Instruments in Redistributing 77
Wealth or Income
Effectiveness of Particular Tax Provisions 80
in Reducing the Tax Burden on Poor People
Conclusion 86
Note 87
References 87
Chapter 4 Assessing Front-line Service Delivery: Public 89
Expenditure Tracking Surveys
Ritva Reinikka and Jakob Svensson
Provider Surveys: Key Features and Potential Uses 91
Survey Applications in Selected Countries 95
Role and Adverse Consequences of Asymmetric 102
Information in Public SpendingContents ix
Conclusion 105
Notes 107
References 108
Chapter 5 The Impact of Budgets on the Poor: Tax and 113
Expenditure Benefit Incidence Analysis
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
Analyzing Tax Incidence 115
Estimating the Incidence of Public Expenditures 135
Net Fiscal Incidence: Combining Tax and 147
Expenditure Incidence
Conclusion 150
Notes 152
References 157
Part Two Case Studies from the Latin America and 163
the Caribbean Region
Chapter 6 Analyzing Debt Sustainability: An Application 165
of SimSIP Debt for Paraguay
Bernhard G. Gunter and Quentin Wodon
Alternative Approaches to Analyzing Debt 169
Sustainability
Theoretical Foundations for the Modules in 171
SimSIP Debt
Simulations for the Debt Projection Module 175
in Paraguay
Simulations for the Deficit-Debt Consistency 181
Module in Paraguay
Conclusion 183
Annex 185
Notes 186
References 187
Chapter 7 Evaluating a Tax System: Mexico 189
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
Revenue Adequacy: Comparing across Countries 189
and Examining the Budget Deficit
Tax Structure 193