Grenada, OECS Fiscal Issues : Policies to Achieve Fiscal Sustainability and Improve Efficiency and Equity of Public Expenditures
The report reviews Grenada public expenditures for the period 1995-02 and suggests policy recommendations to achieve fiscal sustainability, improve social service delivery, and reform social protection based on the economic situation of the country...
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/10/6861572/grenada-oecs-fiscal-issues-policies-achieve-fiscal-sustainability-improve-efficiency-equity-public-expenditure http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13939 |
| Summary: | The report reviews Grenada public
expenditures for the period 1995-02 and suggests policy
recommendations to achieve fiscal sustainability, improve
social service delivery, and reform social protection based
on the economic situation of the country at the time. To
restore rapid economic growth, ensure medium-term fiscal
sustainability under the umbrella of the currency union and
protect the social achievements realized in the past
decades, the main challenges facing the Grenada government
are to: (a) tighten fiscal policy, notably through reduction
of capital expenditures and the realization of the fiscal
savings expected from the public sector reform initiated in
1997 (b) increase the efficiency of public investments and
public service delivery; (c) strengthen regulation and
efficiency of public utilities and sea/air transport; (d)
modernize the legal framework that oversees public sector
employment; and (e) promote education and skills development
to prepare the population, notably the poor, to take
advantage of new opportunities in the global environment.
The report is organized as follows: Chapter 1 discusses
fiscal sustainability in Grenada and presents options for
fiscal consolidation; Chapter 2 discusses the role of the
business cycle in the design of fiscal policy by reviewing
the cyclical components of the fiscal accounts; Chapter 3
discusses the budget management system in place and its
effect on budgetary outcomes. Chapter 4 examines the Public
Sector Investment Program (PSIP); Chapter 5 discusses public
sector employment and compensation issues; Chapters 6 and 7
examine public expenditures and outcomes in the education
and health sectors; and Chapter 8 discusses social
protection programs. Since the completion of the report,
Grenada has undertaken a number of important initiatives to
address the fiscal challenges that the country faces,
especially in the aftermath of Hurricanes Ivan and Emily. In
particular, the authorities have developed a
"burden-sharing" strategy to achieve fiscal
sustainability. However in Grenada, as in all small states,
faster implementation is hindered by limited institutional capacity. |
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