Republic of Uzbekistan: Selected Issues

IMF Staff Country Reports, July 11, 2024

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Republic of Uzbekistan: Selected Issues

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Bibliographic details

• Published: July 11, 2024
• Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400283345.002

Overview

• Publication date: July 11, 2024
• This Selected Issues paper discusses:
  • key channels by which fiscal consolidation impacts short- and medium-term growth,
  • international experience on how to make fiscal consolidation more growth friendly,
  • policy implications for Uzbekistan.
• A large part of the adjustment is implemented with high-quality efficiency-enhancing measures: reducing energy subsidies, improving the targeting of social spending, and curbing policy lending.

Major findings on public spending and fiscal consolidation

• The World Bank Public Expenditure Review notes that nonwage spending in health and education is low and crowded out by high wage bills.
• Wage bills in health and education have been growing in recent years as efforts to improve pay in these areas were implemented.
• Low nonwage spending and large wage bills point to the need to:
  • review the adequacy of nonwage spending in health and education,
  • undertake wage bill rationalization more broadly given these are large sectors of public employment.
• In health spending specifically, consideration should be given to:
  • strengthening primary care,
  • introducing task-shifting to achieve greater efficiency from health wage bill expenditure by shifting its composition over the medium term.

Public investment management recommendations

• Unify the public investment process irrespective of the financing source.
• Create a unified appraisal and selection process.
• Establish a single project pipeline.
• Improve project monitoring and evaluation to increase public investment efficiency.

Subjects and keywords (as listed)

• Subject: Corruption, Crime, Expenditure, Fiscal consolidation, Fiscal policy, Revenue administration
• Keywords: Asia and Pacific, Central Asia and the Caucasus, channels of impact, Corruption, Fiscal consolidation, Global, government data, impact of fiscal consolidation, market regulation, privatizing state enterprises

Content in this bundle

• Republic of Uzbekistan: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/211; May 28, 2024
  • Republic of Uzbekistan: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/211; May 28, 2024 (Markdown version)
  • Republic of Uzbekistan: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/211; May 28, 2024 (PDF)