International Monetary Fund
World Bank GroupFiscal Policy and Income Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa
imf seminars event
DATE: October 10, 2014
DAY: Friday
5:15 PM - 6:45 PM
LOCATION: George Washington University, Lisner Auditorium
Overview
A significant number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa have seen rapid economic growth over the past decade. However, in a number of countries, the fruits of economic growth have not been well-shared and income inequality has increased. Following up on the central theme of the Africa Rising conference in Mozambique, making growth more inclusive, this seminar organized jointly by AFR and FAD would address the role of fiscal policy in reducing inequality in low-income countries, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Conventional wisdom has been that in LICs, low levels of both tax revenue and social spending limit the redistributive impact of fiscal policy. This seminar will discuss that view against the background of recent successes in LICs at broadening tax bases, the introduction of social transfer systems, and the availability of new technologies, such as mobile banking, which are offering new avenues for fiscal policies to become more redistributive. Panelists would include LIC policy makers from SSA and other regions.Recommended Reading >
Media Partners
Fiscal Policy and Income Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa
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Panelists
Prof. Martin Ravallion
Prof. Ravallion has written extensively on poverty reduction and economic policy including in his previous role as Director of the World Bank’s research department. He is President-elect of the Society for the Study of Economic Inequality; Senior Fellow of the Bureau for Research in Economic Analysis of Development; Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research; and non-resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development. He was awarded the John Kenneth Galbraith Prize in 2012.
