Saint Kitts and Nevis - OECS Fiscal Issues : Policies to Achieve Fiscal Sustainability and Improve Efficiency and Equity of Public Expenditures
Despite high levels of per capita incomes and good social service provision, poverty remains a persistent problem in St. Kitts and Nevis. To improve competitiveness, restore rapid economic growth, and ensure its medium-term sustainability in the context of the currency union, the main challenges to the St. Kitts and Nevis government are to (a) tighten fiscal policy, notably through expenditure cuts; (b) increase the efficiency of public investments and public service delivery; (c) strengthen regulation and efficiency of public utilities and sea/air transport; and (d) 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 St. Kitts and Nevis 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; Chapter 5 discusses public sector employment and compensation; Chapters 6 and 7 examine public expenditures and outcomes in the education and health sectors; and Chapter 8, the final chapter, discusses social protection programs.
Summary: | Despite high levels of per capita
incomes and good social service provision, poverty remains a
persistent problem in St. Kitts and Nevis. To improve
competitiveness, restore rapid economic growth, and ensure
its medium-term sustainability in the context of the
currency union, the main challenges to the St. Kitts and
Nevis government are to (a) tighten fiscal policy, notably
through expenditure cuts; (b) increase the efficiency of
public investments and public service delivery; (c)
strengthen regulation and efficiency of public utilities and
sea/air transport; and (d) 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 St. Kitts and Nevis 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;
Chapter 5 discusses public sector employment and
compensation; Chapters 6 and 7 examine public expenditures
and outcomes in the education and health sectors; and
Chapter 8, the final chapter, discusses social protection programs. |
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