Government Finance in Developing Countries

By Richard Goode

Fiscal systems throughout the world have been severely strained in recent years, as governments have assumed more responsibility for economic management. The developing counties, where needs are greatest and resources scarcest, have found their finances especially hard pressed. This book examines a range of issues in government finance that confront developing countries: the formulation and execution of national budget; the objectives, size, and effects of expenditures; the purposes and results of various ways of taxing income, wealth, consumption, exports, or natural resources; the role of foreign and domestic borrowings; and the consequences of financing by money creation. The book also relates fiscal operations to goals such as growth and development, economic stabilization, equitable distribution, and national self-reliance. The author stresses the need to take account of economic and political conditions and particularly administrative capacity when evaluating the suitability of fiscal measures in developing countries.