Benedict J Clements

Energy subsidies have wide-ranging economic consequences. Although they are aimed at protecting consumers, subsidies aggravate fiscal imbalances, crowd out priority public spending, and depress private investment, including in the energy sector. Subsidies also distort resource allocation by encourag...

This publication contains a number of papers by authors using recent research to discuss key principles for the conduct of fiscal policy in developing countries, particularly the poorest countries where there are often insufficient public revenues available to meet spending demands. The papers consi...

Los subsidios a la energía tienen consecuencias económicas de amplio alcance. A pesar de que tienen por objeto proteger a los consumidores, los subsidios agravan los desequilibrios fiscales, desplazan gastos públicos prioritarios y deprimen la inversión privada, en particular en el sector de la ener...

Pension reform is high on the policy agenda of many advanced and emerging market economies. In advanced economies the challenge is generally to contain future increases in public pension spending as the population ages. In emerging market economies, the challenges are often different. Where pension ...

The books that look at pension systems are dated and are not framed in the context of the post-crisis environment. This book covers a current topic of interest that cuts across different disciplines. The previous book by this team was well organized and well received ( The Economics of Public Health...

Health care reform will be a key fiscal policy challenge in both advanced and emerging economies in coming years. In the advanced economies, the health sector has been one of the main drivers of government expenditure, accounting for about half of the rise in total spending over the past forty years...