Fiscal Analysis and Forecasting

Source details

Target audience: Junior officials from the ministries of finance and central banks who would benefit from a better understanding of the macroeconomic dimensions of fiscal policy.
Qualifications:
- Degree in economics or a related field.
- Experience in macroeconomic analysis.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel.

The course offers more extensive exposure to fiscal issues and the macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy than is possible in a standard course on Financial Programming and Policies.
Dedicated lecture topics include:
- Fiscal accounts and analysis
- Fiscal rules and fiscal councils
- Fiscal multipliers
- Management of natural resource revenues
- Fiscal forecasting and fiscal sustainability
- How the fiscal sector relates to the rest of the economy
- Fiscal dimensions in financial programming
Workshops comprise about half the course time and cover:
- Fiscal accounting and analysis
- Fiscal forecasting and sustainability
- Fiscal multipliers
- Fiscal rules and fiscal councils
- Management of natural resource revenues
- Design of a fiscal baseline and alternative scenarios for a real country case study

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to:
- Prepare detailed analyses of revenue and spending developments.
- Generate forecasts of revenue and spending aggregates and the fiscal balance and discuss policy implications.
- Apply acquired knowledge and skills to group-based assessments of real country case studies.