Public Expenditure in Latin America: Trends and Key Policy Issues
February 1, 2007
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Summary
This paper examines trends in government spending in Latin America from the mid-1990s to 2006. It also examines key policy issues, including the cyclicality of spending, public investment, public employment, and social expenditures. It finds that primary expenditures have trended upward for the past ten years as a share of GDP, driven by increases in current spending, in particular for social expenditures. Fluctuations in real spending have continued to follow a procyclical pattern. The paper finds that there is substantial scope to improve the efficiency of public investment, public employment, and social spending.
Subject: Capital spending, Expenditure, Public investment and public-private partnerships (PPP), Public investment spending, Total expenditures
Keywords: expenditure policy, GDP, government expenditure, policy issue, WP
Pages:
34
Volume:
2007
DOI:
Issue:
021
Series:
Working Paper No. 2007/021
Stock No:
WPIEA2007021
ISBN:
9781451865851
ISSN:
1018-5941
