Hana Brixi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Hana Brixi

Research paper thumbnail of Government at Risk

World Bank eBooks, Apr 1, 2002

The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do n... more The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply on the part of the World Bank any judgment of the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The material in this work is copyrighted. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or inclusion in any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the World Bank. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission promptly. For permission to photocopy or reprint, please send a request with complete information to the Foreword In public finance, it no longer suffices for analysts and institutions to focus solely on budget revenues and expenditures. Recent history demonstrates that fiscal performance and, in turn, economic development can be seriously disrupted by the sudden, unexpected costs of hidden contingent liabilities and other unanticipated fiscal risks. During the second half of the 1990s, unreported contingent liabilities and related fiscal risks contributed to economic crises and disrupted growth in a number of developing countries, motivating stepped-up efforts at the World Bank to devise new concepts and tools for analyzing and managing public finance. With the aim of improving the analysis of fiscal risks and supporting policy advice in this area, the Economic Policy Unit of the Bank's Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network established the Quality of Fiscal Adjustment Thematic Group. This book was produced as part of the effort by this Thematic Group to promote new thinking about public finance. We now know that conventional frameworks for fiscal analysis that concentrate on direct, explicit liabilities fail to address contingent fiscal risks. For example, fiscal sustainability analysis that focuses, as is typically the case, on the officially reported budget deficits fails to detect possible future increases in government debt and payments that may emerge from both explicit and implicit government guarantees on enterprise credit, state insurance schemes, exchange rate guarantees, and commitments to assist failed banks. Similarly, the government budget process and …

Research paper thumbnail of China: Urban Services And Governance

World Bank policy research working paper, Sep 2, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Transitions, Conflicts, and Refugees: Both an Opportunity for and a Strain on the Cycle of Performance

Research paper thumbnail of Tax Expenditures--Shedding Light on Government Spending through the Tax System : Lessons from Developed and Transition Economies

World Bank Publications - Books, 2004

... Kees den Boogert is an adviser at the Tax Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Finance of th... more ... Kees den Boogert is an adviser at the Tax Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands. ... Leo van den Ende is head of the Tax Analysis Division at the Tax Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands. Page 15. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Government at Risk : Contingent Liabilities and Fiscal Risk

World Bank Publications, 2002

... and Managing Government Contingent Liabilities in the Banking Sector 311 Stijn Claessens, Uni... more ... and Managing Government Contingent Liabilities in the Banking Sector 311 Stijn Claessens, University of Amsterdam, and Daniela Klingebiel, World ... The Fiscal Risk of Floods: Lessons of Argentina 451 Alcira Kreimer, World Bank Conclusion: Toward a Code of Good Practice ...

Research paper thumbnail of Citizens’ Response to Poor Performance and Unresponsive Institutions?: Lower Trust

Research paper thumbnail of Matching aspirations : skills for implementing Cambodia's growth strategy

Research paper thumbnail of Gaining from migration : migration trends and policy lessons in the greater Mekong sub-region

Research paper thumbnail of Avoiding Fiscal Crisis

The World Economy, 2012

Fiscal activities in the form of contingent liabilities are common in both developed and developi... more Fiscal activities in the form of contingent liabilities are common in both developed and developing countries, in part because they allow governments to secure public services or economic and financial stability without immediately having to raise taxes or borrow. Yet they pose a fiscal danger as governments may underestimate or under-report their risks and possible future fiscal costs. Although they may not appear in governments’ fiscal reports in the short term, they generate government risk exposures and create fiscal obligations for the medium to long term. The accumulation of such risk exposures and obligations depends on fiscal institutions. Fiscal institutions influence government decisions towards contingent liabilities and fiscal risk, and can contribute to limiting the use and design of contingent liabilities as a form of fiscal activity.

Research paper thumbnail of Fiscal Adjustment and Contingent Government Liabilities: Case Studies of the Czech Republic and Macedonia

World Bank policy research working paper, Nov 30, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Historical and Cultural Roots of Citizens’ Attitudes and State Performance

Research paper thumbnail of New development: Innovative governance—using the citizen scorecard in China

Public Money & Management, Jul 1, 2010

This article presents an innovative approach to addressing governance challenges in public servic... more This article presents an innovative approach to addressing governance challenges in public service delivery in China. It builds on a citizen scorecard survey covering 5,000 households in five cities: Chengdu, Dalian, Shanghai-Pudong, Shenzhen and Xi’an. The survey helped policy-makers reveal weaknesses and enhance policy implementation and public service delivery.

Research paper thumbnail of الثقة والصوت والحوافز: التعلم من قصص نجاح محليه عن تقديم الخدمات في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا

Research paper thumbnail of Leading with ideas : skills for growth and equity in Thailand

Research paper thumbnail of Reconstructing Well-Being After a Disaster: Bringing Public Service to Those Who Need Them Most in China

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Reconstructing Public Services After a Disaster: Lessons from International Experience for China and Other Developing Countries

ABSTRACT Reflecting on the lessons from international experience, this article aims to outline th... more ABSTRACT Reflecting on the lessons from international experience, this article aims to outline the analytical and institutional framework for restoring essential public services after a disaster. Specifically, this article offers a five-pillar framework to support successful reconstruction of essential social services in disaster-affected localities. The article is set in the context of China’s Reconstruction Strategy following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The five-pillar framework, however, is relevant for any developing country that may face the challenge of reconstruction after a major disaster.

Research paper thumbnail of Contingent liabilities - a threat to fiscal stability

Research paper thumbnail of Fiscal Risks Are Not Only in the Budget

Czech Journal of Economics and Finance, 2000

ABSTRACT The article demonstrates the importance of incorporating contingent liabilities into fis... more ABSTRACT The article demonstrates the importance of incorporating contingent liabilities into fiscal analysis. When explicit expenditures are shifted off budget or replaced by guarantees, achieved fiscal balance is an illusion. In the Czech Republic, fiscal adjustment may have been overstated by some three to four percent of annual GDP during the 1990's. A stabilization program accompanied by a build-up of contingent liabilities, particularly, state guarantees and obligations to cover liabilities emerging from directed credit and from the purchases of bad assets by state-sponsored agencies, may not be sustainable. The study concludes that the government of the Czech Republic should aim at reducing its overall fiscal vulnerability rather than the budget deficit, develop a more effective strategy to resolve the problem of hidden debt, and enhance the public-finance institutional framework to create adequate incentives for policy makers in dealing with contingent liabilities.

Research paper thumbnail of Protecting People and Economies : Integrated Policy Responses to COVID-19

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has unleashed a global health emergency and an unprecedented ... more The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has unleashed a global health emergency and an unprecedented economic crisis of historic magnitude. Disease containment is a first-order priority to combat the pandemic, and measures such as testing, tracing, and isolating and treating the infected can bring first-order gains. The economic crisis requires a parallel and simultaneous effort to save jobs and protect the incomes of those affected by the pandemic – impacts that will weigh heavily on vulnerable populations and firms affected by the economic slowdown. As governments act to slow the pandemic and protect lives and livelihoods now, they must also maintain macro stability to avoid financial crises and social unrest, which could plunge countries into deeper downturns. Tough policy tradeoffs emerge in both the short and longer terms, shaped by complex interactions among epidemiological factors, demographics, fiscal space, government capacity, and the strength of health and service delivery sy...

Research paper thumbnail of Environmental and social policy procedures : Mizoram

Research paper thumbnail of Government at Risk

World Bank eBooks, Apr 1, 2002

The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do n... more The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply on the part of the World Bank any judgment of the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The material in this work is copyrighted. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or inclusion in any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the World Bank. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission promptly. For permission to photocopy or reprint, please send a request with complete information to the Foreword In public finance, it no longer suffices for analysts and institutions to focus solely on budget revenues and expenditures. Recent history demonstrates that fiscal performance and, in turn, economic development can be seriously disrupted by the sudden, unexpected costs of hidden contingent liabilities and other unanticipated fiscal risks. During the second half of the 1990s, unreported contingent liabilities and related fiscal risks contributed to economic crises and disrupted growth in a number of developing countries, motivating stepped-up efforts at the World Bank to devise new concepts and tools for analyzing and managing public finance. With the aim of improving the analysis of fiscal risks and supporting policy advice in this area, the Economic Policy Unit of the Bank's Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network established the Quality of Fiscal Adjustment Thematic Group. This book was produced as part of the effort by this Thematic Group to promote new thinking about public finance. We now know that conventional frameworks for fiscal analysis that concentrate on direct, explicit liabilities fail to address contingent fiscal risks. For example, fiscal sustainability analysis that focuses, as is typically the case, on the officially reported budget deficits fails to detect possible future increases in government debt and payments that may emerge from both explicit and implicit government guarantees on enterprise credit, state insurance schemes, exchange rate guarantees, and commitments to assist failed banks. Similarly, the government budget process and …

Research paper thumbnail of China: Urban Services And Governance

World Bank policy research working paper, Sep 2, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Transitions, Conflicts, and Refugees: Both an Opportunity for and a Strain on the Cycle of Performance

Research paper thumbnail of Tax Expenditures--Shedding Light on Government Spending through the Tax System : Lessons from Developed and Transition Economies

World Bank Publications - Books, 2004

... Kees den Boogert is an adviser at the Tax Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Finance of th... more ... Kees den Boogert is an adviser at the Tax Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands. ... Leo van den Ende is head of the Tax Analysis Division at the Tax Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands. Page 15. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Government at Risk : Contingent Liabilities and Fiscal Risk

World Bank Publications, 2002

... and Managing Government Contingent Liabilities in the Banking Sector 311 Stijn Claessens, Uni... more ... and Managing Government Contingent Liabilities in the Banking Sector 311 Stijn Claessens, University of Amsterdam, and Daniela Klingebiel, World ... The Fiscal Risk of Floods: Lessons of Argentina 451 Alcira Kreimer, World Bank Conclusion: Toward a Code of Good Practice ...

Research paper thumbnail of Citizens’ Response to Poor Performance and Unresponsive Institutions?: Lower Trust

Research paper thumbnail of Matching aspirations : skills for implementing Cambodia's growth strategy

Research paper thumbnail of Gaining from migration : migration trends and policy lessons in the greater Mekong sub-region

Research paper thumbnail of Avoiding Fiscal Crisis

The World Economy, 2012

Fiscal activities in the form of contingent liabilities are common in both developed and developi... more Fiscal activities in the form of contingent liabilities are common in both developed and developing countries, in part because they allow governments to secure public services or economic and financial stability without immediately having to raise taxes or borrow. Yet they pose a fiscal danger as governments may underestimate or under-report their risks and possible future fiscal costs. Although they may not appear in governments’ fiscal reports in the short term, they generate government risk exposures and create fiscal obligations for the medium to long term. The accumulation of such risk exposures and obligations depends on fiscal institutions. Fiscal institutions influence government decisions towards contingent liabilities and fiscal risk, and can contribute to limiting the use and design of contingent liabilities as a form of fiscal activity.

Research paper thumbnail of Fiscal Adjustment and Contingent Government Liabilities: Case Studies of the Czech Republic and Macedonia

World Bank policy research working paper, Nov 30, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Historical and Cultural Roots of Citizens’ Attitudes and State Performance

Research paper thumbnail of New development: Innovative governance—using the citizen scorecard in China

Public Money & Management, Jul 1, 2010

This article presents an innovative approach to addressing governance challenges in public servic... more This article presents an innovative approach to addressing governance challenges in public service delivery in China. It builds on a citizen scorecard survey covering 5,000 households in five cities: Chengdu, Dalian, Shanghai-Pudong, Shenzhen and Xi’an. The survey helped policy-makers reveal weaknesses and enhance policy implementation and public service delivery.

Research paper thumbnail of الثقة والصوت والحوافز: التعلم من قصص نجاح محليه عن تقديم الخدمات في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا

Research paper thumbnail of Leading with ideas : skills for growth and equity in Thailand

Research paper thumbnail of Reconstructing Well-Being After a Disaster: Bringing Public Service to Those Who Need Them Most in China

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Reconstructing Public Services After a Disaster: Lessons from International Experience for China and Other Developing Countries

ABSTRACT Reflecting on the lessons from international experience, this article aims to outline th... more ABSTRACT Reflecting on the lessons from international experience, this article aims to outline the analytical and institutional framework for restoring essential public services after a disaster. Specifically, this article offers a five-pillar framework to support successful reconstruction of essential social services in disaster-affected localities. The article is set in the context of China’s Reconstruction Strategy following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The five-pillar framework, however, is relevant for any developing country that may face the challenge of reconstruction after a major disaster.

Research paper thumbnail of Contingent liabilities - a threat to fiscal stability

Research paper thumbnail of Fiscal Risks Are Not Only in the Budget

Czech Journal of Economics and Finance, 2000

ABSTRACT The article demonstrates the importance of incorporating contingent liabilities into fis... more ABSTRACT The article demonstrates the importance of incorporating contingent liabilities into fiscal analysis. When explicit expenditures are shifted off budget or replaced by guarantees, achieved fiscal balance is an illusion. In the Czech Republic, fiscal adjustment may have been overstated by some three to four percent of annual GDP during the 1990's. A stabilization program accompanied by a build-up of contingent liabilities, particularly, state guarantees and obligations to cover liabilities emerging from directed credit and from the purchases of bad assets by state-sponsored agencies, may not be sustainable. The study concludes that the government of the Czech Republic should aim at reducing its overall fiscal vulnerability rather than the budget deficit, develop a more effective strategy to resolve the problem of hidden debt, and enhance the public-finance institutional framework to create adequate incentives for policy makers in dealing with contingent liabilities.

Research paper thumbnail of Protecting People and Economies : Integrated Policy Responses to COVID-19

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has unleashed a global health emergency and an unprecedented ... more The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has unleashed a global health emergency and an unprecedented economic crisis of historic magnitude. Disease containment is a first-order priority to combat the pandemic, and measures such as testing, tracing, and isolating and treating the infected can bring first-order gains. The economic crisis requires a parallel and simultaneous effort to save jobs and protect the incomes of those affected by the pandemic – impacts that will weigh heavily on vulnerable populations and firms affected by the economic slowdown. As governments act to slow the pandemic and protect lives and livelihoods now, they must also maintain macro stability to avoid financial crises and social unrest, which could plunge countries into deeper downturns. Tough policy tradeoffs emerge in both the short and longer terms, shaped by complex interactions among epidemiological factors, demographics, fiscal space, government capacity, and the strength of health and service delivery sy...

Research paper thumbnail of Environmental and social policy procedures : Mizoram