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Kyrgyz Republic Public Expenditure Review Policy Notes : Intergovernmental Fiscal RelationsIntergovernmental fiscal relations have
 advanced over the last decade in the Kyrgyz Republic. Since
 the previous public expenditure review in 2004, the
 government of the Kyrgyz Republic has developed a number of
 policy changes in the area of intergovernmental fiscal
 relations. These policy changes helped the country to
 introduce a more transparent and equitable system of local
 government financing. Still, effective decentralization
 continues to face challenges. A set of policy
 recommendations for the government to consider are designed
 to clarify the role of local government and provide better
 incentives for improved service delivery. These are based on
 a review of the four pillars of intergovernmental fiscal
 relations in Kyrgyz Republic: (i) the expenditure assignment
 (of who does what); (ii) revenue assignment (with what
 resources) assignment; (iii) the system of transfers; and
 (iv) borrowing. In this context, the report is structured as
 follows: section one gives executive summary. Section two
 provides a brief description of the institutional context in
 terms of the structure of government and the elements of
 political and administrative decentralization. Section three
 analyzes the delineation of expenditure responsibilities
 among government tiers. Section four analyzes revenue
 sources assigned to each tier of government. Section five
 focuses on the system of intergovernmental transfers.
 Section six examines subnational public investments and
 borrowing. In each of these sections main issues and
 problems are identified in the current system and the
 desired directions for reform are pointed out.
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South East Europe Municipal Finance Review : Local Government Finance in the Western BalkansThis report addresses the limited access
 to local governments of data and knowledge of municipal
 finance issues in South East Europe (SEE). The objective of
 the analytical work under the SEE Municipal Finance Review
 (MFR) aims to (i) contribute to improved understanding of
 local government management and finance in the SEE Region;
 and (ii) contribute to improving the quality and consistency
 of key municipal finance data for improved evidence based
 policy making. The analysis presented in this report
 comprises the first attempt to review and analyze a regional
 set of disaggregated sub-national finance data in the SEE
 Region. Main findings of the MFR are presented in this
 report. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2
 provides an overview of the decentralization framework in
 the SEE Region, including on the administrative and
 political structure of sub-national governments, their
 population size and distribution, and the service functions
 assigned to local governments. Chapter 3 explains in more
 detail the local government finance framework. This includes
 an overview of the structure and composition of sub-national
 finances, in particular (i) revenue and expenditure
 assignments; (ii) transfers and intergovernmental fiscal
 relations; and (iii) the evolving framework and realities of
 sub-national borrowing and debt. Chapter 4 provides a
 summary of the key trends and findings from the
 cross-country, regional analysis, complemented by detailed
 analysis of the disaggregated datasets, where available.
 Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes conclusions and provides some
 recommendations for a possible way forward. In the medium to
 long term, access to municipal finance information would
 contribute to increasing transparency and accountability of
 local governments, improving revenue collection and
 expenditure performance, optimizing budget allocation
 procedures, and strengthen local authorities' role and
 position in intergovernmental fiscal considerations and
 negotiations in the SEE countries.
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Georgia Public Expenditure Review : Strategic Issues and Reform AgendaGenerating growth and creating jobs
 within a sustainable fiscal framework is Georgia s biggest
 macroeconomic challenge. Although Georgia registered rapid
 growth of 5.7 percent a year during 2010-13, unemployment
 remains high at 15 percent. New growth companies, especially
 in tourism and other service sectors, did not generate
 enough formal or even informal employment. Fiscal policy
 played a crucial role in Georgia s recent growth performance
 with a fiscal stimulus driven post-crisis recovery which
 increased deficit and debt levels followed by fiscal
 consolidation during 2010-12 when recovery took hold. The
 weak execution of the budget in 2013 and policy uncertainty
 were largely responsible for the growth slowdown during the
 year. Tackling the growth and jobs agenda in Georgia will
 require significant investment in human and physical capital
 and the government has a large role to play here. Additional
 spending, where it is needed, should be undertaken within
 the fiscal consolidation agenda of the government, designed
 to help restore the macroeconomic buffers needed to secure
 stability and sustain confidence in the future. The change
 in government in 2012 marked a shift in fiscal policy with
 prioritization of recurrent social expenditures over capital
 spending, thereby, increasing budget rigidity. During
 2012-13, the government raised the benefit levels under the
 targeted social assistance (TSA) and pensions and introduced
 universal health care (UHC). As a result, the fiscal deficit
 is likely to increase from 2.6 percent of gross domestic
 product (GDP) in 2013 to 3.7 percent in 2014. Over the
 medium term, an aging population and the need to improve
 health outcomes and coverage of the poor in social
 assistance programs will keep social expenditures high at
 more than 9 percent of GDP. The share of capital
 expenditures will level off, meanwhile. Such an outcome will
 reduce the government s flexibility in trimming current
 expenditures in the future.