Large and growing subsidies to residential consumers in Mexico have become a major policy concern. This report explains the growth of subsidies, the current distribution of subsidies across income classes, and uses utility and household survey data to simulate how alternative subsidy mechanisms could improve distributional and fiscal performance. The goal is to help inform discussion in Mexico about how to reduce subsidies and redirect them toward the poor. The findings also offer lessons ...

Large and growing subsidies to residential consumers in Mexico have become a major policy concern. This report explains the growth of subsidies, the current distribution of subsidies across income classes, and uses utility and household survey data to simulate how alternative subsidy mechanisms could improve distributional and fiscal performance. The goal is to help inform discussion in Mexico about how to reduce subsidies and redirect them toward the poor. The findings also offer lessons for...

Pregnancy has turned FBI Agent Cynna Weaver's whole life upside down. Lupus sorcerer Cullen Seabourne is thrilled to be a father, but what does Cynna know about kids? Her mother was a drunk and her father abandoned his family. Or so she's always believed... As Cynna is trying to wrap her head around this problem, a new one pops up in the form of a delegation from another realm. They want to take Cynna and Cullen back with them- to meet her long-lost father and find a mysterious medallion. ...

A clear, authoritative guide to the crisis of 2008, its continuing repercussions, and the needed reforms ahead.The U.S. economy lost the first decade of the twenty-first century to an ill-conceived boom and subsequent bust. It is in danger of losing another decade to the stagnation of an incomplete recovery. How did this happen? Read this lucid explanation of the origins and long-term effects of the recent financial crisis, drawn in historical and comparative persp...

Taxes are a crucial policy issue, especially in developing countries. Just recently, proposals to raise middle-class taxes toppled the Bolivian government, and plans to extend or increase the value-added tax caused political unrest in Ecuador and Mexico. Despite the impact of tax policy on developing countries, a comprehensive study has yet to be written. Treating Argentina, Brazil, India, Kenya, Korea, and Russia as key case studies, this volume outlines the major aspects of current tax c...

Financial crises are dramatic events. When they emerge, they tend to dominate the attention of the press and become the focus of policymakers. In one form or another, they have affected the lives of millions of people throughout the world. As references to 16th century Dutch tulips, 18th South Seas merchant ventures, or 1920s Florida real estate make clear, they have been around for a long time. At their worst, such as in the cases of the Great Depression or the current Great Recession, th...

First came the financial and debt crisis in Greece, then government financing difficulties and rescue programs in Ireland in 2010 and Portugal in 2011. Before long, Italy and Spain were engulfed by financial contagion as well. Finally in 2012, the European Central Bank pledged to do "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro area with purchases of government bonds, a step that achieved impressive results, according to William R. Cline in this important new book.One of the world's lea...

Fiscal policy is an incredibly important tool for governments across the world, with many countries facing dilemmas in crafting fiscal policies to meet changing demographic needs, greater demands for social welfare and sudden spending due to shocks such as terrorism. This important book looks at fiscal policy in the Asian Pacific economies and with a broad array of contributors will be a useful tool to students, researchers and professionals working in international economics and finance.

The October 2010 Regional Economic Outlook features: (i) an overview of economic developments and prospects in sub-Saharan Africa; (ii) an analytical assessment of how monetary policy changes are transmitted through the region's economies; and (iii) a study of why growth rates in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) have lagged behind other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The overview highlights the broad-based economic recovery that is now under way in sub-Saharan Africa and ...

This book describes the different banking systems of the twelve European Community countries and examines how they were affected by the Single European market of 1992. Exploring the implications of relevant EC legislation, the book highlights the problems that face financial institutions trying to expand their European operations and draws lessons from the efforts of major European banks to safeguard their own markets and independence in a more competitive European environment.

As tariffs on imports of manufactures have been reduced as a result of multi-lateral trade negotiations, interest in the extent to which existing nontariff barriers may distort and restrict international trade is growing. Accurate and reliable measures are needed in order to address the issues involving the use and impacts of nontariff barriers. This study assesses currently available methods for quantifying such barriers and makes recommendations as to those methods that can be most effec...

Our government debt is rising every day. Our population is shifting as more people retire and fewer are able to find work. Our social programs, including the Affordable Care Act, are only adding to our financial burden, and rising taxes are hindering economic growth. We are a nation in the red.A powerful wake-up call to leaders, investors, and citizens, this brilliantly researched book reveals the surprising truth about our national debt--and what we can do about it.You'll ...