Can Public Discussion Enhance Program Ownership?

Author/Editor:

Peter Isard ; Allan Drazen

Publication Date:

September 1, 2004

Electronic Access:

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Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary:

We use the concepts of deliberative democracy from political science and cheap talk from economics to develop a better understanding of how public discussion can contribute to building and demonstrating ownership of IMF programs and hence to program success. We argue that ownership is more complex than many discussions of it would suggest, since it must include not only the willingness to carry out a program, but also the technical capacity and especially the political ability to do so. Public discussion can serve a number of purposes, each of which can be better understood by moving to a more formal treatment. We illustrate our points by means of simple examples. We also consider some of the drawbacks of public discussion, especially as applied to IMF programs.

Series:

Working Paper No. 2004/163

Subject:

Communications in revenue administration Expenditure Fiscal consolidation Fiscal policy Labor Revenue administration Tax incentives

English

Publication Date:

September 1, 2004

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451857962/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA1632004

Pages:

31

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