Fiscal Management in Russia (World Bank Country Study). This item is unavailable.Fiscal Management in Russia (World Bank Country Study)

The structural transformation of the Russian economy since 1992 has been accompanied by major changes in the country ' s fiscal picture, ranging from massive reductions in government spending to fiscal decentralization. Still ahead lies the need for more efficient fiscal management. The remaining fiscal challenge is to ensure the durability of the government ' s stabilization policies by maintaining a low fiscal deficit and improving the allocative and redistributive efficiency of government resources. Despite significant progress since 1992, budgets have not yet adapted to the far-reaching changes brought by the transition. This report analyzes the deficiencies of the budget system and recommends ways to improve fiscal management so that it meets the requirements of a decentralized market-based economy. It focuses on two crucial and interrelated features of fiscal management which, to a large extent, determine the outcome of fiscal policy and the allocative efficiency of government resources: 1) intergovernmental fiscal relations; and 2) the structural, technical and institutional aspects of the budget system.