With a long history of recurrent and costly debt crises, Latin American governments have long sought to find a way to curb the fiscal deficits that stoke the debt problem. Those efforts gathered steam over the course of the 2000s when numerous governments in the region began adopting fiscal rules, which seek to curb politicians' ability to increase spending under political and … [Read more...] about Fiscal Rules for a Debt-Plagued Region
Martín Ardanaz
Martin Ardanaz es especialista senior en Gestión Fiscal del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo con sede en Costa Rica, donde lidera el diseño y ejecución de proyectos de fortalecimiento fiscal en la región de Centroamérica. Su área de expertise incluye la economía política de las finanzas públicas en países en desarrollo. Ha coordinado la preparación de los capítulos fiscales del Informe Macroeconómico Anual del BID en varias oportunidades, y cuenta con publicaciones en diversas temáticas de las finanzas públicas tanto a nivel nacional como subnacional, incluyendo: reglas fiscales, inversión pública, eficiencia del gasto público, y economía política de las reformas fiscales. Ha publicado artículos y capítulos en revistas especializadas tales como World Development, Journal of International Money and Finance, European Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Comparative Economics, y Oxford Handbook of Latin American Economics, entre otras.
Preserving Public Investment During Fiscal Adjustments
As COVID-19 struck in early 2020, governments across Latin America and the Caribbean moved decisively through transfers, credits and other means to shore up their economies and support families and firms. That swift governmental action did much to alleviate suffering. But in the midst of falling revenues, fiscal deficits increased substantially, rising on average from 3.4% of … [Read more...] about Preserving Public Investment During Fiscal Adjustments
Fiscal Policy in the Time of Coronavirus: Constraints and Policy Options for Latin American and Caribbean Countries
Latin America and the Caribbean is suffering a heavy blow as the novel coronavirus is spreading, governments are sending people home, and only a few businesses are allowed to operate. This happens against a grim backdrop of financial fragility, and a flight to quality assets in developed countries, with the resulting doubling of credit spreads in emerging markets since January … [Read more...] about Fiscal Policy in the Time of Coronavirus: Constraints and Policy Options for Latin American and Caribbean Countries