Introduction, Key Concepts, Goals, and Themes, PFM Performance

Richard Allen ()

Chapter 1 in Reforming Public Finances, 2026, pp 3-19 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter provides an introduction to the book, Parts A and B. It outlines key concepts and definitions, including the key distinction between technical and nontechnical assistance, sets out the goals and objectives of the book, discusses the disadvantages of public finance reform action plans and the related committees, and explains why fewer, better sequenced and context-appropriate reforms are more likely to succeed than expensive donor-driven packages pursued simultaneously across multiple areas. The chapter also provides data showing the performance of reforms over the last 20 years. The overall improvement in PFM (Public Financial Management) has been slow, less than a quarter of 1% per year. This chapter recommends a carefully sequenced medium-term strategy, focusing on a limited number of reforms, aligned with developing country priorities and capacity.

Keywords: key reform areas; public finance; PFM; budgeting; institutions; political economy; technical assistance; nontechnical assistance; fiscal policy; fiscal risks; fiscal transparency; World Bank; IMF; AI tools; reform sequencing; governance; corruption; international financial institutions (IFIs); developing countries; advanced countries; legal frameworks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-12388-6_1

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-12388-6_1

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