Republic of Haiti - Public Expenditure Management and FinancialAccountability Review (PEMFAR) : Improving Efficiency of the Fiscal System and Investing in Public Capital to Accelerate Growth and Reduce Poverty

World Bank

Washington, DC

关键词: ACCOUNTING SYSTEM;    ANNUAL BUDGET;    ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS;    APPROPRIATION;    AUDITOR GENERAL;   

RP-ID  :  40066

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

After the lost decade 1994-2004, markedby political instability and economic decline, Haiti hasreformed significantly and revived growth, especially in thepast three years. Macroeconomic policies implemented sincemid-2004 helped restart economic growth, reestablish fiscaldiscipline, reduce inflation and increase internationalreserves. Financial sector stability has been maintainedthough weaknesses have emerged. Significant progress wasalso achieved in the implementation of economic governancemeasures, mainly in the area of legal framework, core publicinstitutions and financial management processes andprocedures. Notably, basic budget procedures were restored,the public procurement system strengthened, andanti-corruption efforts stepped up. Efforts were also madeto improve efficiency and transparency in the management ofpublic enterprises. These recent political and economicdevelopments open a window of opportunity to break withHaiti's turbulent past and create the sound foundationsfor strong and sustained economic growth and povertyreduction. In such an environment, the development challengeof more dynamic growth in order to reduce poverty requiresbold policy actions across a broad spectrum covering variousareas of Government interventions to: (i) improve security;(ii) expand and improve the quality of the infrastructurebase; (iii) expand the economic base and (iv) enhance humancapital. But because of Haiti's scarce resources,prioritizing Government interventions is critical to ensurethat public resources are allocated to their best uses. Thiscalls for reforms to improve efficiency of public spending.However, public expenditure reforms would not be enough todecisively put Haiti on a strong and sustained growth pathunless they are complemented by revenue-enhancing measures.This implies that the country design a comprehensive fiscalreform package. Major policy lesson from this experiment isthat strong and sustainable growth depends on the scope andquality of the fiscal reforms. Fiscal reforms should targeta broad-based fiscal package, which aims at expanding thefiscal space and improving efficiency in the allocation ofpublic spending. This package would combine: (a) an increasein total public investment; (b) a reallocation of publicspending to investment; (c) a crease in the effectiveindirect tax rate; (d) an increase in direct tax rate; (e)an increase in security spending; and (f) a reduction incollection costs. The Haiti macro-model shows that thefiscal package tends to have positive impact on growth andpoverty over time. Foreign aid could play a catalytic roleto foster fiscal reforms and help accelerate growth in theshort and medium-term.