Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar: Tailoring Fiscal Responses for a Fairer Recovery
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- Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar: Tailoring Fiscal Responses for a Fairer Recovery
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Contact
For event inquiries:
International Monetary Fund
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Tel. 81-(0)3-3597-6700
Email: OAPEconomicSeminar@imf.org
Seminar purpose and context
- Hosted by the IMF Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific to share key points of the April 2021 IMF Fiscal Monitor, "A Fair Shot".
- Focus: how governments' fiscal policies should adapt to get ahead of the pandemic and set the stage for a greener, fairer, and more durable recovery.
- Emphasis on tailoring fiscal responses to country circumstances, tackling inequalities in access to basic public services, and supporting a green, digital, and inclusive transformation.
Key findings from Chapter 1: Tailoring Fiscal Responses
- Fiscal actions should:
- Get ahead of the pandemic, protect vulnerable households and viable firms, and set the stage for a greener, fairer, and more durable recovery.
- Remain flexible and supportive until the pandemic is brought under control globally.
- Be increasingly tailored to country circumstances to balance divergent risks.
- Global cooperation on vaccination must be scaled up to produce and distribute vaccines to all countries at affordable costs.
- To balance risks from growing debt with those from premature withdrawal of policy support, policymakers need to develop credible medium-term fiscal frameworks.
- This effort could be supported by improving the design of fiscal rules or by “preapproving” future tax reforms.
- Fiscal policy should enable a green, digital, and inclusive transformation of the economy in the post–COVID-19 environment.
Key findings from Chapter 2: A Fair Shot
- Large preexisting inequalities have worsened the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the crisis has escalated these inequalities.
- A holistic approach is needed to break the circle of inequality, encompassing both predistributive and redistributive policies.
- Investing in education, healthcare, and early childhood development, and strengthening social safety nets can powerfully improve access and lifetime opportunities.
- These investments can be financed by:
- Raising tax progressivity.
- Strengthening overall tax capacity.
- Given strong and likely rising public support for better access to basic services financed through higher taxes, governments should announce comprehensive policy packages embedded in medium-term fiscal frameworks.
- Such packages give everyone a fair shot, strengthen trust in governments, support inclusive growth, and build social cohesion.
Policy recommendations and implications
- Maintain flexible and supportive fiscal policies until global control of the pandemic is achieved.
- Scale up global cooperation on vaccine production and distribution at affordable costs.
- Develop credible medium-term fiscal frameworks to manage trade-offs between debt risks and premature policy withdrawal.
- Improve fiscal-rule design or preapprove future tax reforms to enhance credibility.
- Use fiscal policy to support green, digital, and inclusive structural transformation.
- Adopt holistic reforms combining predistributive measures (e.g., public service expansion) and redistributive measures (e.g., progressive taxation).
- Embed comprehensive policy packages in medium-term fiscal frameworks to harness public support and strengthen trust.
Speakers and roles
- David Amaglobeli — Deputy Division Chief, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF.
- Background highlights: previously assistant to the director in Fiscal Affairs Department; worked on intense surveillance country cases and IMF-supported programs including Ukraine; held positions in Georgia including acting governor of the National Bank of Georgia and deputy minister of finance; negotiated debt restructuring with the Paris Club; introduced an inflation targeting regime.
- Jean-Marc Fournier — Economist, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF.
- Background highlights: previously at OECD Economics Department and INSEE’s forecasting department; Adjunct Professor at ENSAE; research on fiscal policy, income inequality, EU single market, public finance, and the Covid-19 crisis; educated at Ecole Polytechnique, ENSAE and EHESS.
- Raphael Lam — Senior Economist, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF.
- Background highlights: previously on the China and Japan team in the Asia and Pacific Department; participated in IMF lending program to Iceland during the global financial crisis; research on fiscal and financial sector issues; holds a Ph.D in Economics from University of California.
Event agenda and timing
- 11:00-11:05 am: Introduction
- 11:05-11:25 am: Presentation on Chapter 1 “Tailoring Fiscal Responses”; Speaker: Raphael Lam, Senior Economist; Presentation
- 11:25-11:45 am: Presentation on Chapter 2 “A Fair Shot”; Speakers: David Amaglobeli, Deputy Division Chief; Jean-Marc Fournier, Economist; Presentation
- 11:45-12:10 pm: Q&A session
- 12:10-12:15 pm: Closing & post-event survey
Content in this bundle
- Fiscal Monitor April 2021 Chapter 1, Presentatoin, IMF Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar, June 15 2021
- Fiscal Monitor April 2021 Chapter 2, Presentation, IMF Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar, June 15, 2021
References
- OAP Home
- April 2021 edition of the IMF Fiscal Monitor. The lead authors from the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department presented how governments’ fiscal responses needed to be tailored to country circumstance to contain the pandemic and enabled a strong recovery, and discussed how fiscal policies could tackle inequalities, especially in access to basic public services.