Authorities and international experts will meet at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) next March 16-17 to attend the XXVIII Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy, where they will analyze fiscal policy challenges in times of economic deceleration.
The gathering, which takes place every year at the headquarters of the United Nations regional organization in Santiago, Chile, is organized by ECLAC with the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is also supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), through the joint ECLAC/AECID program “Renewing the Fiscal Pact in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
This seminar has become an essential reference point in discussions on the region’s current economic and fiscal situation, and it is attended by officials in charge of fiscal policy, representatives of international organizations and academics from various countries.
The XXVIII session will include an opening panel of authorities that will address fiscal policy challenges in the current framework of lower economic growth and will evaluate the progress made by the region in terms of tax reform and income distribution.
At the gathering, participants will also discuss initiatives aimed at improving the quality of public spending in a context of financial restrictions. Finally, they will address the role of sub-national governments in the process of fiscal consolidation.
Two important reports will be presented during the seminar. One of them is Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2016, a joint publication of the OECD, ECLAC, IDB and the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) that compiles homogeneous information on tax collection in 20 Latin American countries. This report, of which this will be the fourth edition, is a tangible product of the debates and initiatives that have originated in past sessions of the seminar.
In addition, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, will present the Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2016, an annual publication that provides updated statistical information and relevant analysis of the region’s public finances.
