Working Papers
2003
February 1, 2003
Performance Budgeting: Managing the Reform Process
Description: This paper reviews the role of accounting in budget system reform from the perspective of emerging economies who wish to adopt the OECD's performance budgeting reforms. While many OECD countries, pursuing the reforms associated with the New Public Management, have moved their accounting systems from a cash to an accrual basis, this paper argues that given the costs involved, such a move is perhaps only worthwhile in the context of adopting much wider public sector management reforms. Moreover, while recognizing that accrual accounting does support public expenditure management best practices, it is also argued that many of the objectives of performance-oriented budgeting can be attained by less than full accrual accounting, and that unless certain preconditions are met it is safer for countries to remain with, and improve, their cash-based accounting systems. For those countries with sound enough cash-based systems the paper describes a possible phased approach to the introduction of accruals, as well as the parallel stages of adopting the new international GFSM 2001 reporting requirements.
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2003
January 1, 2003
Information Technology and Productivity Growth in Asia
Description: The contribution of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector to growth in Asian economies is clearly evident from the expenditure side (net exports) and became particularly significant in the second half of the 1990s. This paper employs an extension of the standard growth accounting framework, using estimates of stock of ICT capital (hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment), to estimate the direct contributions to growth. The contribution of ICT to growth in Asia during the 1990s is found to be mainly from capital deepening. Total factor productivity (TFP) is also decomposed (using the dual-or revenue-based-approach) into the contributions of non-ICT capital stock, ICT capital stock, and labor. TFP growth is found to be relatively small in most Asian countries.
January 1, 2003
Inflation Targeting Regimes
Description: This paper classifies countries that define their monetary policy framework by an inflation target into full-fledged inflation targeters, eclectic inflation targeters and inflation targeting lite regimes. This classification is based on indicators of the clarity and credibility of the commitment to the inflation target. The three regimes can be viewed as corresponding to different welfare maximizing combinations of policy objectives, each conditional on a country's "endowed" level of credibility. The credibility of the regimes is related empirically to structural differences. Policy implications are drawn, especially for emerging market countries aiming at full-fledged inflation targeting.