South Asia is grappling with significant fiscal challenges that affect its governments’ ability to provide essential public services. Although its tax rates are often higher than average, the region struggles with low tax revenues. This blog explores the reasons behind these low revenues and discusses potential solutions to bridge the revenue gap and strengthen South […]
Vikhsit Bharat : This is the ambitious goal India has set itself of becoming a high-income country by 2047. But reaching this goal will require India to grow almost 8 percent on average for the next 22 years. That would mean an acceleration from the 6.6 percent growth per year that India achieved over the last 25 […]
Implementation of the “Liberation Day” tariffs on the US’ trading partners would have far-reaching consequences for international trade patterns and the US and global economies. This column models the effects of an unanticipated permanent unilateral tariff imposed by the US and an assumed equal reaction on the part of the rest of the world. The […]
Government procurement—the process in which public entities buy goods and services from private companies—represents between 5% and 20% of a country’s GDP, depending on the country. Public procurement policies allow governments to strategically support certain firms and sectors, for example, small businesses or eco-friendly products. In using public procurement systems, policymakers must navigate a trade-off: […]
A fundamental problem for sovereigns enacting climate policies is whether they can manage increasing debts as their economies suffer from adverse climate impacts. We develop stochastic debt sustainability analysis integrating a coupled climate-economy model with debt financing scenario optimisation, and stress test sovereign debt for representative countries globally under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change […]
As economies develop, it is often assumed that agriculture becomes less relevant—a small slice of GDP and a shrinking share of employment. But evidence from Europe and Central Asia tells a different story. Across countries stretching from Portugal to Uzbekistan, agriculture and the broader agrifood sector remain essential pillars of economic development, employment, trade, and […]
As economies develop, it is often assumed that agriculture becomes less relevant a small slice of GDP and a shrinking share of employment. But evidence from Europe and Central Asia tells a different story. Across countries stretching from Portugal to Uzbekistan, agriculture and the broader agrifood sector remain essential pillars of economic development, employment, trade, […]
Carbon pricing has become a central tool in Europe’s strategy to mitigate climate change. This column presents new evidence on the impact of carbon pricing across European regions. The authors find that an increase in carbon prices is associated with a significant decline in output and a rise in unemployment. Carbon pricing also has important […]
It is down more than 4% on both the euro and the yen through April, though bounced at the end of last week on an apparent conciliatory shift in the tone of U.S.-China relations. The dollar held steady on Monday as investors waited warily on news of U.S. trade policy and braced for a week […]
In the past decade, China has become the largest creditor to developing countries, surpassing the IMF, World Bank, and Paris Club countries. This column discusses how China’s overseas lending interacts with US monetary policy – another key driver of the global financial cycle. It finds that Chinese and US policies jointly influence the level and […]
