IMF Staff Country Reports

Republic of Uzbekistan: Selected Issues

July 11, 2024

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International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept. "Republic of Uzbekistan: Selected Issues", IMF Staff Country Reports 2024, 211 (2024), accessed December 5, 2024, https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400283345.002

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Summary

This Selected Issues paper discusses key channels by which fiscal consolidation impacts short- and medium-term growth, examines the international experience on how to make fiscal consolidation more growth friendly, and analyzes 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. The World Bank Public Expenditure Review notes that nonwage spending in health and education is low and crowded out by high wage bills, which have been growing in recent years as efforts to improve pay in these areas were implemented. This points to the need to review the adequacy of nonwage spending in these sectors and undertake wage bill rationalization more broadly since these are large sectors of public employment. In the specific case of health spending, consideration should be given to strengthening primary care and introducing task-shifting which will lead to greater efficiency from health wage bill expenditure by shifting its composition over the medium term. Unify the public investment process irrespective of the financing source; create a unified appraisal and selection process; establish a single project pipeline; and improve project monitoring and evaluation to increase public investment efficiency.

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

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