Publications

Disparate Racial Impact: Tax Expenditure Reform Needed

| 23 March 2021
Fiscal, Policy Briefs | Tags: Income Inequality, Tax Expenditures
This policy brief discusses the issues of potential disparate racial impacts of U.S. tax laws regarding government subsidy and incentive programs run through the tax system: tax expenditures. It analyzes the available data, provides normative insights, and describes eight steps to address disparate racial impacts ... continue reading

Why Governments Continue to Offer Inefficient Investment Incentives? The Role of Bureaucratic Design

and | 19 March 2021
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Investment, Tax Incentives
Governments worldwide use a myriad of tax incentives to promote investment and yet, there is little evidence that these incentives actually work as intended. Moreover, although the striking lack of transparency makes it hard (if not impossible) to accurately estimate their fiscal cost, the available ... continue reading

How to Design Environmentally Beneficial Tax Incentives

and | 4 March 2021
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Carbon Tax, Climate Change, Tax Incentives
The fight against climate change requires effective economic policy instruments. In addition to environmental taxes, such as a carbon tax, environmentally beneficial tax incentives that favour less polluting consumption and investment activities can be used to promote climate-friendly behaviour. In search of governments around the ... continue reading

The Case for Climate Objectives in Central Banks’ Targeted Refinancing Operations

| 12 February 2021
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Central Banks, Climate Risk, Policy Coherence, Targeted Refinancing Lines
Central banks are making increasing use of targeted refinancing operations to pursue their mandates. However, so far none of them, with a few exceptions in developing economies, has aligned its targeting with the objective of a transition to a low-carbon economy. This must change. Refinancing ... continue reading

Avoiding a Household Debt Crisis with a Targeted Policy Response

| 8 January 2021
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Covid-19, Debt, Income Tax, Unemployment
The economic effect of the Covid-19 pandemic varies highly across industrial sectors, education levels and income groups, adding further to inequality across the globe. This calls for highly targeted policy responses for the sake of fiscal prudence and to avoid further economic and financial hardship ... continue reading

Climate Financial Risks: Assessing Convergence, Exploring Diversity

, and | 9 December 2020
Monetary, Discussion Notes | Tags: Climate Risk, Financial Supervision, Monetary Policy Operations, Risk Metrics
Climate risks are now fully recognized as financial risks by asset managers, investors, central banks, and financial supervisors. As a result, the integration of climate risk metrics into risk management processes is moving up agendas worldwide. In that context, a rapidly growing number of market ... continue reading

COVID-19 and Inequality: The Urgent Need for Tax Expenditure Reform

and | 24 November 2020
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Covid-19, Inequality, Tax Expenditures, Tax Reform
The economic impact of COVID-19 is both unprecedented and far-reaching. There is now little doubt that the pandemic will disproportionally hit the worse-off, hence exacerbating inequality. It is also clear that the pandemic is particularly affecting groups and sectors that were already under significant stress ... continue reading

Central Banks Must Upgrade Their Risk Management

| 23 November 2020
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Central Banks, Climate Change, Climate Risk
The COVID-19 crisis is a stark reminder of how sharply asset values can shift. Amid a crashing demand for oil and gas, giant energy companies like BP, Chevron and Shell massively wrote down the value of their assets. And those that did not, like Exxon, ... continue reading

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