IMF Conference

IMF SEMINARS, CONFERENCES, AND ECONOMIC FORUMS

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will hold a joint conference at the IMF's headquarters in Washington, DC from April 21-22, 2013.

The conference is open to Spring Meetings attendees, accredited press, and all IMF and World Bank staff. For questions regarding the conference, please send an email to IMFWB@imf.org.

The global financial crisis refocused interest in fiscal policy as an instrument for growth and development, while also underlining the importance of fiscal sustainability for macroeconomic stability. In an environment of low growth in the advanced economies, developing countries have a strong incentive to seek out new domestic engines for efficiency and productivity growth, as well as for greater equity in development. The potential of fiscal policy to promote these objectives is therefore of great interest to developing country policymakers. The conference will focus on several key themes with presentations by IMF and World Bank staff and discussions led by academics and policymakers:

1. Tax Policy and Expenditure Composition for Growth: The session will consider how tax policy constraints can be overcome as well as identify what revenue and expenditure sources are most growth-friendly.
   
   
2. Leveraging the Power of Infrastructure Investment: This session will consider how infrastructure investment can close the infrastructure gap and boost growth prospects.
   
   
3. Fiscal Institutions for Growth: This session will examine the role of fiscal rules, fiscal responsibility frameworks, and medium-term frameworks for growth.
   
   
4. Fiscal Frameworks for Growth in Natural Resource-Rich Countries: Natural resource wealth poses a unique opportunity for developing countries, but can also bring with it macroeconomic, fiscal and governance challenges. This session will address questions of how much to save versus spend, managing volatility and the political economy of natural resource-led development.
   
   
5. Fiscal Policy for Poverty Reduction, Improved Income Distribution and Human Capital Development: The session will focus on the role fiscal policy can play in reducing income inequality and achieving more equitable social outcomes.

AGENDA
Note: Each presentation and discussion will be 20 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of questions and answers. Discussants will be asked to broaden the discussion rather than to focus on the paper presentations.
Day One Sunday, April 21
1:00–2:00 pm	Registration
2:00–2:30 pm	Opening Remarks: Christine Lagarde (Managing Director, IMF) and Jim Yong Kim (President, World Bank)
2:30–4:00 pm	Session I: Tax Policy and Expenditure Composition for Growth Chair: Otaviano Canuto, Vice President and Head of Network, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, World Bank Presenters: Michael Keen (IMF): Overcoming the Constraints to Growth: The Role of Tax Policy and Expenditure Reforms See the presentation Santiago Acosta-Ormaechea (IMF) and Atsuyoshi Morozumi (University of Nottingham): Can a Government Enhance Long-Run Growth by Changing the Composition of Public Expenditure? See the presentation Discussant: Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (GSU) See the presentation
4:00–4:30 pm	Coffee break
4:30–6:00 pm	Session II: Leveraging the Power of Infrastructure Investment Chair: Antoinette Sayeh, Director, African Department, IMF Presenters: Sanjeev Gupta, Alvar Kangur, Chris Papageorgiou, Abdoul Aziz Wane (IMF): Investing in Growth: Efficiency-Adjusted Public Capital and Growth See the presentation Norman Loayza and Rei Odawara (WB): Infrastructure and Economic Growth in Egypt See the presentation Discussant: Charles R. Hulten (University of Maryland) See the presentation
6:00–7:00 pm	Cocktails (HQ2-2nd Floor Cafeteria)
Day Two Monday, April 22
9:00–10:30 am	Session III: Fiscal Institutions for Growth Chair: Otaviano Canuto, Vice President and Head of Network, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, World Bank Presenters: Martine Guerguil (IMF): Fiscal Rules and Fiscal Responsibility Frameworks for Growth in Emerging and Low Income Countries See the presentation Jim Brumby (WB): Fiscal Performance and Global Experience with Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEFs) See the presentation Discussant: Andrew Warner (IMF Resident Scholar) See the presentation
10:30–11:00 am	Coffee break
11:00 am–12:30 pm	Session IV: Fiscal Frameworks for Growth in Natural Resource-Rich Countries and Small Economies Chair: Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Managing Director, World Bank Presenters: Alex Segura, Todd Matina, Marcos Poplawski-Ribeiro, and Christine Richmond (IMF): Fiscal Frameworks for Resource Rich Developing Countries See the presentation Anand Rajaram (WB): Rents to Riches: The Political Economy of Natural Resource-Led Development See the presentation Discussant: Tony Venables (University of Oxford) See the presentation
12:30–2:00 pm	Lunch (BY INVITATION ONLY) Luncheon Speaker:Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Finance Minister of Nigeria)
2:00–3:30 pm	Session V: Fiscal Policy for Poverty Reduction, Improved Income Distribution and Human Capital Development Chair: Carlo Cottarelli, Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF Presenters: Nora Lustig (Tulane University): The Impact of Taxes and Social Spending on Inequality and Poverty in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay: An Overview See the presentation Jose Antonio Cuesta Leiva (WB): Social Spending, Distribution and Equal Opportunities See the presentation Discussant: Nancy Birdsall (Center for Global Development) See the presentation
3:30–4:00 pm	Coffee break
4:00–5:30 pm	Panel Discussion: Challenges of Fiscal Policy to Sustain Growth Panelists: Otaviano Canuto (Vice President and Head of Network, PREM, World Bank) Ravi Kanbur (Cornell University) Benno J. Ndulu (Governor of the Central Bank of Tanzania) Maria Kiwanuka (Ugandan Minister of Finance) Moderator: Scott Morris (Center for Global Development)
5:30 pm	Wrap Up and Concluding Remarks Carlo Cottarelli Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF