TY - BOOK ID - 137459906 TI - Fiscal Policy for Growth and Development in Tajikistan AU - Brownbridge, Martin AU - Canagarajah, Sudharshan PY - 2008 PB - Washington, D.C., The World Bank, DB - UniCat KW - Access to Finance KW - Banks and Banking Reform KW - Debt Markets KW - Economic growth KW - Finance and Financial Sector Development KW - Fiscal deficit KW - Fiscal Policy KW - Fiscal sustainability KW - Poverty Reduction KW - Public debt KW - Public Disclosure KW - Public financial management KW - Public provision KW - Public Sector Economics and Finance KW - Public Sector Expenditure Analysis and Management KW - Public spending UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:137459906 AB - Tajikistan's economy has recovered strongly after the collapse of the 1990s, but sustaining rapid economic growth over the long term and reducing poverty present major challenges for policymakers. This paper contributes to the debate over the strategic role for fiscal policy to play in meeting these challenges, utilizing the "fiscal space" approach to assess the long-term potential for expanding public provision of growth-promoting goods and services and evaluating the priorities for public spending. It also analyzes the long-term risks to fiscal sustainability, from external public debt and the quasi fiscal deficit of the electricity sector. The paper contends that institutional reforms in key areas, notably public financial management, tax administration, and the energy sector, are crucial for generating fiscal space and for ensuring that higher levels of public spending are translated into stronger economic growth and poverty reduction. The priorities for government spending should be education, health, and the maintenance of the core networks of the existing infrastructure for energy and transport, rather than new public investment projects. ER -