{
  "title": "Chart of the Week: Sharing the Fruits of Growth",
  "publication": "IMF Blog, April 24, 2017",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/04/24/chart-of-the-week-sharing-the-fruits-of-growth",
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  "summary": "Published: April 24, 2017",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Context and purpose",
      "content": "- Published: April 24, 2017\n- Event context: Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, where economists and policymakers discussed sustaining global economic expansion and ensuring that the fruits of growth are shared more widely within countries.\n- Focus: The role of fiscal policy—government’s ability to tax and spend—in making growth more inclusive.\n- Empirical anchor: The chart shows the redistribution effect of fiscal policy before and after taxes, as measured by the change in the Gini coefficient. A Gini of zero expresses perfect equality, while a Gini of one expresses maximum inequality."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key findings illustrated",
      "content": "- The effectiveness of fiscal policy in mitigating inequality varies widely by country, as shown by differences in the pre- and post-tax Gini changes in the Chart of the Week.\n- Fiscal policy can alter income distribution through taxes, transfers, and public spending choices."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy recommendations and country examples",
      "content": "- Improved design of transfers to households\n  - Advanced economies: Use targeted tax credits available only to those who are employed to both support low-income families and encourage work.\n    - United States example: Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and raise the minimum wage to promote employment for low-income working people.\n  - Emerging market and developing countries: Expand transfers to the poor that are conditional on attendance of children at health clinics and schools.\n    - Examples: Jamaica and Pakistan.\n- More progressive tax systems\n  - Advanced countries: Make tax systems more progressive by reducing exemptions that favor the affluent.\n    - Example: Mortgage-interest tax credit cited for the United States and Sweden.\n  - Emerging market and developing economies: Expand the coverage of the personal income tax by reducing exemptions and bringing more firms and individuals into the formal sector to increase fiscal revenues and equity.\n- Public education and training\n  - Governments should help workers acquire and maintain skills for the evolving global economy.\n    - United Kingdom example: Further expand vocational training and apprenticeship programs to improve employment prospects for youth."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Further reading",
      "content": "- Chapter one of the IMF’s 2017 Fiscal Monitor is suggested for more detail.\n\nSource: Chart of the Week: Sharing the Fruits of Growth (April 24, 2017).\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Fiscal Monitor\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/04/24/chart-of-the-week-sharing-the-fruits-of-growth"
    }
  ],
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    "[Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2017/04/24/chart-of-the-week-sharing-the-fruits-of-growth/index.md)",
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    "Authors: The Editors",
    "Published: April 24, 2017",
    "Published: April 24, 2017",
    "Event context: Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, where economists and policymakers discussed sustaining global economic expansion and ensuring that the fruits of growth are shared more widely within countries.",
    "Focus: The role of fiscal policy—government’s ability to tax and spend—in making growth more inclusive.",
    "Empirical anchor: The chart shows the redistribution effect of fiscal policy before and after taxes, as measured by the change in the Gini coefficient. A Gini of zero expresses perfect equality, while a Gini of one expresses maximum inequality.",
    "The effectiveness of fiscal policy in mitigating inequality varies widely by country, as shown by differences in the pre- and post-tax Gini changes in the Chart of the Week.",
    "Fiscal policy can alter income distribution through taxes, transfers, and public spending choices.",
    "Improved design of transfers to households",
    "More progressive tax systems",
    "Public education and training",
    "Chapter one of the IMF’s 2017 Fiscal Monitor is suggested for more detail.",
    "[Fiscal Monitor](http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/FM/Issues/2017/04/06/fiscal-monitor-april-2017)"
  ],
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  "generatedAtUtc": "2026-08-27T21:21:21.547Z"
}