Publications

Central Bank Market Neutrality is a Myth

 and | 16 October 2020
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Asset Purchases, Central Banks, Climate Change, Foreign Exchange Reserves, Market Neutrality
Christine Lagarde, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), this week raised the critical question whether, in view of market failures, market neutrality should remain the guiding principle driving central banks’ policy portfolio management. Her spotlight on market neutrality underscores growing and overdue scrutiny ... continue reading

Central Banks Must Heed Their Own Warnings on Climate Risks

 | 13 October 2020
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Asset Purchases, Central Banks, Climate Risk, Collateral Frameworks
The Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a group of more than 70 central banks and financial supervisors across the globe, has repeatedly highlighted that climate risks are financial risks. Its members have also continuously put a spotlight on the ... continue reading

Tackling Inequality Through Tax Expenditure Reform

 and | 24 September 2020
Fiscal, Policy Briefs | Tags: G20, Inequality, Tax Expenditures, VAT
Inequality endangers social cohesion and hampers economic growth, and as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, inequality is set to increase. Hence, the commitment of the Group of Twenty (G20) to address inequality in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is arguably more ... continue reading

Trade Implications of Tax Expenditures

 , , , , and | 15 September 2020
Fiscal, Trade, Policy Briefs | Tags: Carbon Tax, Digitalization, Tax Competition, Tax Expenditures
International trade and taxation are inextricably linked and have been high-priority issues within the Group of Twenty (G20) agenda. However, the interconnections between international trade and tax expenditures—that is, benefits granted through preferential tax treatment—have been overlooked. This brief calls for a better design of ... continue reading

Worthy Goals, Flawed Policies – Why Increasing Tax Deductions for Parents Can be Wrong

 | 4 September 2020
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Inequality, Tax Expenditures
Tax expenditures (TEs) – also called tax benefits, tax reliefs, or simply tax subsidies – are used widely to pursue different policy objectives, e.g. boosting innovation and R&D, attracting investment and reducing poverty. Governments worldwide forego significant amounts of revenues through the implementation of these ... continue reading

COVID-19 and Seizing the Opportunity for Reforming Tax Expenditures in Africa

 and | 27 July 2020
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Covid-19, Domestic Revenue Mobilization, Tax Expenditures
The  resources needed for financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are estimated at USD 2.5 – 3 trillion per year. According to the IMF, low-income countries (LIC) will need, on average, additional resources amounting to 15.4% of GDP to finance the SDGs in education, health, ... continue reading

The Transition to a Sustainable Post-COVID Economy Requires an Urgent Shift in Central Bank Risk Management

 | 10 July 2020
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Central Banks, Climate Risk, Covid-19, Financial Regulation, Monetary Policy Operations, Precautionary principle
The COVID-19 crisis is profoundly and durably transforming our economies. So will the transition to a low-carbon economy, which is necessary to contain the environmental crisis ahead of us. Shifting our economic system from its current state to a sustainable post-COVID version entails large and ... continue reading

Supporting Households with Tax Expenditures in Times of COVID-19

 | 3 July 2020
Blog, Publications | Tags: Covid-19, Informality, Sustainable Development, Tax Expenditures
The economic shock triggered by the current pandemic is unprecedented. The number of victims of COVID-19 has already hit half a million and continues to rise. At the same time, the impact on economic output is massive. According to recent OECD estimates, global economic activity ... continue reading

Tax Expenditures and Inequality

 | 16 June 2020
Fiscal, Discussion Notes | Tags: Inequality, Sustainable Development, Tax Expenditures
Tax expenditures are used widely by governments across the world to pursue different public policy goals including boosting innovation and R&D, job creation, greening the economy as well as mitigating inequality and tackling poverty. Yet, besides their stated goals (which are often aligned with a ... continue reading

Avoiding Mining Tax Relief Pitfalls During a Crisis

 | 22 May 2020
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Covid-19, Mining, Tax Expenditures, Taxes
Establishing effective tax policy for the mining sector can be a challenge in the best of times, especially for resource-rich developing countries which may lack sector-specific experience and technical capacity. Under the pressure of a crisis, it is critical for countries to steer clear of ... continue reading

The Day After Tomorrow. Designing COVID-19 Bailouts for a Sustainable Recovery

 | 4 May 2020
Fiscal, Monetary, Blog | Tags: Bailouts, Climate Change, Covid-19, Employment, Inequality
Governments around the world are taking extraordinary measures to mitigate the economic fallout of COVID-19. Their decisions in the weeks and months ahead will shape our lives for years to come. The fiscal packages that are being adopted as well as the funding that central ... continue reading

Bail, or Bailout? Tax Experts Publish 5-Step Test for Covid19 Business Bailouts

 and | 27 April 2020
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Bailouts, Covid-19, Tax Avoidance
Following bans from Denmark, Poland and Argentina on companies registered in tax havens from receiving Covid19 bailouts[1], the Tax Justice Network has published a “bail or bailout” test to clarify uncertainty on how governments can determine which companies are discreetly using tax havens to pay ... continue reading

Is the United States Reneging on International Financial Standards?

 | 20 April 2020
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Covid-19, Debt, Federal Reserve, Financial Regulation
The financial shock surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the Federal Reserve to temporarily loosen an important capital-to-asset ratio requirement for US banks. In so doing, it is walking away from a decade-long commitment to global financial reforms forged in the wake of the global ... continue reading

Argentina. A Short Blanket for the Coronavirus Long Night

 and | 3 April 2020
Fiscal, Monetary, Blog | Tags: Central Banks, Covid-19, Fiscal Space, Health, Inflation, Informality
The coronavirus has arrived, and Argentina has played its cards. First life, then the economy. While it is non-debatable that the consequences of the pandemic will be enormous throughout the world, the magnitude of the impact is still uncertain. Argentina is a special case on three ... continue reading

The ECB Response to COVID-19

 | 27 March 2020
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Asset Purchases, Covid-19, European Central Bank, Helicopter Money, Targeted Refinancing Lines
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, the European Central Bank (ECB) committed to inject an additional 870 billion euro – about 7% of the euro area’s GDP – into financial markets to address the significant challenge the pandemic poses to the economy. Through its ... continue reading
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