Top Stories |
Tax Policy and Revenue Administration |
Public Financial Management and Expenditure Policy |
Macrofiscal
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The October 2018 Fiscal Monitor presents public sector balance sheets for 31 countries and illustrates tools that can be used to analyze the resilience of public finances. Public sector balance sheets bring together the entirety of what the state owns and owes, offering a broader fiscal picture beyond debt and deficits, allowing for better risk management and policymaking (see video ). Balance sheet analysis raises the tenor of policy debate as highlighted in press conference , asking how public wealth can be better used to meet society’s economic and social goals. |
Costing Spending Needs for Achieving Selected SDGs
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The IMF in close collaboration with development partners has assessed costing spending needs for achieving selected SDGs. On September 24, Christine Lagarde (IMF Managing Director) presented key findings at a UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Meeting and Vitor Gaspar (FAD Director) made a more detailed presentation at a session chaired by Amina J. Mohammed (UN Deputy Secretary General) and Jeff Sachs (UN senior advisor). The work shows that in most low-income developing countries, ambitious tax revenue strategies will not be sufficient to meet the financing needs, and that these countries will therefore require supportive efforts from the private sector, donors, and philanthropists. These efforts need to be coordinated and embedded into the national plans, requiring improvements in governance. |
Gender, Technology and the Future of Work
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New technologies—digitalization, artificial intelligence, and machine learning—are increasing the range of workplace tasks that may be automatable. Hard-won gains from policies fostering greater gender equality in labor force participation and earnings may be quickly eroded if women are overrepresented in sectors and occupations that are at high risk of automation. This SDN finds that female workers face a higher risk of automation compared to male workers, albeit with significant heterogeneity across sectors and countries. Given the current state of technology, it is estimated that 26 million female jobs in 30 countries are at a high risk of being displaced by technology within the next two decades. Less well-educated and older female workers, as well as those in low-skill clerical, service, and sales positions are disproportionately exposed to automation. |