Public Financial Management
« Previous EntriesNatural Disasters, National Diligence: The Chilean Earthquake in Perspective
Saturday, March 6th, 2010 The Chilean earthquake that hit during the early morning hours of February 27 has brought searing images of devastation; and international news coverage has shown scenes of looting and arson incidents occurring in its immediate aftermath. In Chile, criticism of the government’s response is widespread.
Many are wondering whether numerous deaths and severe destruction could [...]
National Disasters Today Provide Governance Lessons
Monday, March 1st, 2010 Let us consider three countries:
Country 1: Its approach to industrialization has relied heavily on a very large public sector that accounts for well over 40 percent of GDP, and on aid financing from richer countries. The country has no fiscal discipline, running a deficit exceeding 13 percent of GDP. Rather, leaders have focused more [...]
Haiti: Rescue, Recovery, and Effective Development Aid
Monday, January 18th, 2010We are pained about the death toll and human suffering in Haiti and we share their sorrow. With the exception of the tsunami in Asia, this tragedy is unprecedented in recent memory in a country not at war. Current technology makes the devastation and death instantly clear around the globe. Such technology also enables [...]
Chile ingresando a la OCDE: como ir al Mundial de Futbol?
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Es ya oficial ahora: Chile entrará a la OCDE, y pronto. Un gran reconocimiento y logro. Según la BBC, Chile festeja como un Mundial, ya que Andrés Velasco dice en París: “Es como clasificar para el Mundial, donde están los 32 mejores equipos. Aquí en la OCDE son 30 y con Chile vamos a ser [...]
Power shifting back from Washington to New York: Recapture of the State in the offing?
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Imagine you hold a very high position in the US Government, in Washington, DC. And you believe it is important to talk to the top Wall Street bankers, to nudge them to be more modest about their bonuses, and more generous about their lending. You call a meeting with these top bankers in Washington. [...]
International Anti-Corruption Day 2009: An Hour of Silence to Reflect and Reboot
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 As Wednesday, December 9th dawns, there is a dim reminder that one is supposed to ‘celebrate’ International Anti-Corruption. ‘Dim reminder’ to ‘celebrate’ in quotation marks indeed, because unfortunately anti-corruption continues to be largely in the back-burner for most world powers, for most international institutions, and for many of their leaders.
Or worse…
Corruption Index today, Development Aid Reform tomorrow?
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009Transparency International (TI), the international anti-corruption NGO, just released its annual corruption perceptions index (CPI). No big surprises. This is no surprise. Corruption does not tend to change dramatically from one year to the next. Yet it is certainly worth reviewing the new data…
Indicadores Mundiales de Gobernabilidad 2009
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009Acabamos de salir a la luz con los Indicadores Mundiales de Gobernabilidad 2009, y con el nuevo reporte ‘Governance Matters’. El resumen en español, el reporte, y los datos estan aqui.
In French, here.
In Arabic, here.
In Japanese, here.
In Chinese (last year), here.
In Russian (last year), here.
In Português (last year), here.
For access to the most current Worldwide Governance [...]
Governance Matters 2009: Learning From Over a Decade of the Worldwide Governance Indicators
Monday, June 29th, 2009Today we are releasing the report Governance Matters VIII, which includes the new update of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). Now collaborating from the Brookings Institution, I continue to take part in this research project with my former World Bank colleagues Aart Kraay and Massimo Mastruzzi.
In the WGI we construct and measure six dimensions [...]
Grand Donor Illusion and Larceny in Africa?
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009Last week’s piece in the New York Times (NYT, and in IHT) on ill-fated Anti-Corruption commissions and campaigns in a number of prominent countries in Africa elicited comment, both in this blog space and elsewhere. I also got separate communications and feedback, including on the role of donors and aid, which was not the [...]
The End of Ideology: G20 from Washington to London to New York
Thursday, April 9th, 2009 Imagine the world powers declaring the ‘Washington Consensus’ dead while at the same time mightily empowering a key institution involved in the Economic Consensus mantra, which ruled since the early 1990s) — namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Imagine the same heads of state of the most powerful countries on earth being very close to reaching closure on a major Communiqué during their official deliberations last week [...]
The London G-20 Summit Agreement: An initial reaction to the Communique
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009The G-20* has officially finalized its work in the London Summit and just issued its final communiqué here. Based on a quick review of that communique and the press briefing that has just ended with UK’s PM Gordon Brown, here is my quick account of the commitments made and my initial reactions [IN BRACKETED CAPS] [...]
The ‘voracious’ US economy cannot do it alone any longer: Enter the G-20
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009An agreement of sorts is highly likely by the end of this G-20 Summit day here in London. Remember the law of large numbers: so many issues in the agenda makes it easy to find some areas of easier convergence. And commnuniques are not known to prioritize between what is centrally important and what is [...]
Will showdown on Global Financial Regulation be averted at the G-20 Summit?
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009The stillness of the dark wee hours of Wednesday in London is already being disrupted by the news buzz of a likely showdown between the leaders of France and Germany, Sarkozy and Melkert, vs. Barack Obama of the US. This in the eve of the G-20 Summit here…
News Alert: Chile Discovered, UK Uncovered (on eve of G-20 Summit…)
Monday, March 30th, 2009 Unknown to many, another Summit has just concluded: the ‘Progressive Leaders’ (center-left) just met in Chile, hosted by her President, Michele Bachelet. It was also attended by the leaders of the UK, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Norway, and by the U.S. VP, Joe Biden.
In the press conference that Ms. Bachelet held jointly with [...]