The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has been wreaking havoc throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) since the first quarter of the year has had a major impact not just on people’s health but also on public finances in every country, both at national and at subnational level. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the region’s real gross domestic … [Read more...] about Four Reform Opportunities to Strengthen Subnational Finances in the Post-pandemic Era
Guatemala
The strategic role of Ministries of Finance to boost sustainable infrastructure investments
The adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement principles on climate change provide a prime opportunity to promote a new form of development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Public investment in infrastructure and services can play a key role in LAC countries’ efforts to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. Sustainable … [Read more...] about The strategic role of Ministries of Finance to boost sustainable infrastructure investments
Access to financial information: a pillar of tax transparency and the fight against fraud
In memory of Francisco Abea Tax administrations, given the nature of their functions, require access to information held by the financial system. Ensuring tax compliance without knowing actual financial flows generates "short-sighted" tax administrations. This motivates them to implement unorthodox procedures to indirectly access information to deploy controls, taxes on … [Read more...] about Access to financial information: a pillar of tax transparency and the fight against fraud
Coronavirus Crisis Communications: 10 Practical Recommendations for Local Governments
The coronavirus pandemic has presented governments with the challenge of implementing public health measures to contain the spread of the epidemic by promoting social distancing, forcing people to work from home, and closing schools, business and events as well as forcing quarantine measures. The actions to contain the epidemic[1] seek to “flatten the curve” related to the … [Read more...] about Coronavirus Crisis Communications: 10 Practical Recommendations for Local Governments
Possible macro-fiscal consequences of COVID-19 in Latin America
The pandemic does not come to the region in good time, the little dynamism of growth in recent years generates uncertainty of the outlook for the future. For 2020, the consensus among analysts expects a drop in output in Latin America and the Caribbean between -2% and -6%, which comparative terms would be deeper contractions than the debt crisis of the eighties (-2.4%) and the … [Read more...] about Possible macro-fiscal consequences of COVID-19 in Latin America