Governing Finance – The Case for a New Playbook
Alexander Barkawi and
Simon Zadek | 7 April 2021
Monetary,
Blog | Tags:
Central Banks,
Climate Change,
Digital Finance,
Employment,
Financial Supervision,
Governing Finance,
Inequality,
Sustainability
Finance impacts all aspects of our lives, from our economies to social cohesion to the ecological systems we depend on for our very survival. As a result, the implications of how we govern finance are fundamental, and ultimately existential. Yet, alarmingly, we are not talking
... continue reading
Governing Finance for Sustainable Prosperity
Alexander Barkawi and
Simon Zadek | 7 April 2021
Monetary,
Discussion Notes | Tags:
Central Banks,
Climate Change,
Digital Finance,
Employment,
Financial Supervision,
Governing Finance,
Inequality,
Sustainability
Finance impacts all aspects of our lives, from our economies to social cohesion to the ecological systems we depend on for our very survival. As a result, the implications of how we choose to govern finance are fundamental, and ultimately existential.
Whether we succeed in improving
... continue reading
Assessing Pension-Related Tax Expenditures in South Africa
Agustin Redonda and
Christopher Axelson | 6 April 2021
Fiscal,
Research Papers | Tags:
Inequality,
Pensions,
South Africa,
Tax Expenditures
In 2016, the South African government introduced a comprehensive reform to simplify
and harmonize the pension system in order to incentivize pension savings and increase the fairness
of the retirement system. Using administrative tax micro-data, we assess the impact of the 2016
reform and find that it triggered
... continue reading
“If Something Cannot Go on Forever, It Will Stop“
William White | 1 April 2021
Fiscal,
Monetary,
Policy Briefs | Tags:
Covid-19,
Debt,
Democracy,
Environment,
Financial Stability,
Health Systems,
Inequality,
International Cooperation,
Resilience
“If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” This famous observation was made by Herb Stein, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. It became famous largely because it was just that, obvious. Yet, what is no less obvious is that public policy is
... continue reading
Trade in Environmental Services: The Quiet Revolution
Hildegunn Kyvik Nordås and
Ronald Steenblik | 29 March 2021
Trade,
Blog | Tags:
Environment,
Services Trade,
Sustainable Development
A significant number of WTO members have taken steps to revive the discussions on the role that traded environmental goods and services could play in a green recovery. This is encouraging. While technology offers significant opportunities for a green recovery, more needs to be done
... continue reading
Services Trade Governance in the Digital Economy
Hildegunn Kyvik Nordås | 26 March 2021
Trade,
Policy Briefs | Tags:
Digitalization,
Services Trade,
Trade Policy
Services are at the frontier of the transformation to a digital economy. R&D as well as information and communication technology drive the transformation and make services more tradable across borders. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) governing global services trade was designed in
... continue reading
Disparate Racial Impact: Tax Expenditure Reform Needed
Tom Neubig | 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
Alexander Slaski and
Sarah Bauerle Danzman | 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
Angela Köppl and
Margit Schratzenstaller | 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
Chiara Colesanti Senni | 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