1st Edition

Fiscal Policy and Economic Reforms Essays in Honour of Vito Tanzi

Edited By Mario I. Blejer, Teresa Ter-Minassian Copyright 1997

    Following Macroeconomic Dimensions of Public Finance, this is the second volume of essays in honour of Vito Tanzi. It focuses on the importance of fiscal policy on the wholesale economic reforms that are sweeping the advanced, less developed and formally communist countries. Issues analyzed include:
    * the role of fiscal and budgetary policies in the process of reform
    * the impact of privatization on the exchequer and the dilemmas for social policy in times of fiscal austerity
    * the paradox of post-socialism and post-dirigisme that an efficient and harmonic move to a decontrolled, liberal market economy involves active state intervention
    * the methodological aspects relating to the proper assessment of fiscal policy mechanisms.
    This collection of essays contributes to the understanding of the channels and transmissions mechanisms of fiscal policies in the context of major economic reforms.

    Preface: Vito Tanzi—The Economist and the Man 1 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW: THE ROLE OF FISCAL POLICIES IN PROMOTING ECONOMIC REFORMS Part 1 Fiscal policies, privatization, and structural reforms 2 THE BUDGETARY IMPACT OF PRIVATISATION 3 MACROECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS AND THE MODALITIES OF PRIVATIZATION 4 A FISCAL APPROACH TO LIBERALIZATION POLICY Part II Fiscal policy and the promotion of sustainable growth 5 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF RECENT TAX REFORMS ON SAVINGS, INVESTMENT, AND GROWTH Part III Fiscal policy and the environment 6 FISCAL AND MACROECONOMIC ASPECTS OF ENVIRONMENT TAXES Part IV Fiscal policies, poverty alleviation, and the social safety net 7 POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN A FINANCIAL PROGRAMMING FRAMEWORK: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH 8 ECONOMIC REFORMS, SOCIAL SAFETY NETS, AND THE BUDGET IN TRANSITION ECONOMIES 9 CONSUMER PRICE REFORMS AND THE SAFETY NET IN TRANSITION ECONOMIES Part V Fiscal policy reforms and the transition from central planning 10 EXCESS WAGES TAX 11 THE FISCAL COMPONENT AND THE FIRST RUSSIAN TABILIZATION EFFORT, 1992–3 12 TAXATION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ECONOMIES IN TRANSITION Part VI List of selected publications by Vito Tanzi SELECTED PUBLICATIONS BY VITO TANZI

    Biography

    Mario I.Blejer is Senior Adviser at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He holds an economics Ph.D from Chicago and has taught at Hebrew, Boston and New York universities. He has published extensively on monetary and fiscal issues and transition economies. Teresa Ter-Minassian holds degrees in law and economics from Rome and Harvard. She reached the grade of Division Chief at the Bank of Italy before taking a permanent position at the IMF, where she is currently Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department.