{
  "title": "Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Selected Issues Paper",
  "publication": "IMF Staff Country Reports, February 12, 2015",
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  "summary": "This Selected Issues paper analyzes various aspects of fiscal framework in the Republic of Mauritania. Mauritania needs to avoid pro-cyclical fiscal policies and adopt rules that guide medium-term fiscal sustainability.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Major findings",
      "content": "- Mauritania needs to avoid pro-cyclical fiscal policies and adopt rules that guide medium-term fiscal sustainability.\n- Fiscal policy has been responsible and focused on fiscal consolidation, but important challenges lie ahead linked to price volatility, exhaustibility of resources, and effective use of resources.\n- Mauritania has important natural resource wealth, and its fiscal policy is shaped by considerations resulting from its reliance on resource revenues.\n- Prospects for price shocks in the short term and significant mining expansion in the long term could pose significant challenges to fiscal policy management."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Fiscal framework analysis and rule options",
      "content": "- Analysis indicates a fiscal rule targeting a nonresource primary balance would be appropriate for long-term sustainability under the assumption of a finite resource horizon.\n  - This rule should be designed to allow some frontloading of public spending on productive investment.\n- A fiscal rule targeting a structural resource balance would be appropriate in the scenario of long-lasting resources, possible under the assumption of favorable developments in the global commodity markets."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy implications and recommendations",
      "content": "- Adopt fiscal rules that explicitly account for resource revenue dynamics to protect against volatility and resource exhaustibility.\n- Design rules to permit frontloading of productive public investment while preserving long-term sustainability when resources are finite.\n- Consider an alternative rule focused on structural resource balance if assumptions about long-lasting resource revenues and favorable commodity market developments hold."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Contextual risks and scenarios",
      "content": "- Short-term risk: price shocks that affect resource revenues and fiscal outcomes.\n- Long-term risk/opportunity: significant mining expansion that could alter revenue prospects and fiscal policy needs.\n- Policy choice depends critically on the assumed resource horizon (finite vs. long-lasting) and global commodity market developments.\n\nSource: Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Selected Issues Paper, IMF Staff Country Reports (February 12, 2015).\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- cr1536\n  - cr1536 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - cr1536 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}"
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    "Published: February 12, 2015",
    "Series: IMF Staff Country Reports",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781498354226.002",
    "Mauritania needs to avoid pro-cyclical fiscal policies and adopt rules that guide medium-term fiscal sustainability.",
    "Mauritania has important natural resource wealth, and its fiscal policy is shaped by considerations resulting from its reliance on resource revenues.",
    "Prospects for price shocks in the short term and significant mining expansion in the long term could pose significant challenges to fiscal policy management.",
    "Analysis indicates a fiscal rule targeting a nonresource primary balance would be appropriate for long-term sustainability under the assumption of a finite resource horizon.",
    "A fiscal rule targeting a structural resource balance would be appropriate in the scenario of long-lasting resources, possible under the assumption of favorable developments in the global commodity markets.",
    "Adopt fiscal rules that explicitly account for resource revenue dynamics to protect against volatility and resource exhaustibility.",
    "Design rules to permit frontloading of productive public investment while preserving long-term sustainability when resources are finite.",
    "Consider an alternative rule focused on structural resource balance if assumptions about long-lasting resource revenues and favorable commodity market developments hold.",
    "Short-term risk: price shocks that affect resource revenues and fiscal outcomes.",
    "Long-term risk/opportunity: significant mining expansion that could alter revenue prospects and fiscal policy needs.",
    "Policy choice depends critically on the assumed resource horizon (finite vs. long-lasting) and global commodity market developments.",
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