Stay tuned! Event recordings will be available soon.
The 6th World Bank/IFS/ODI Public Finance Conference took place in Washington, DC, on September 26-27, 2024, with streaming for non-presenting attendees.
This event is part of the 2024 Tax Data Analytics Week. Visit the week’s website for the full agenda and details on other events.
About the Conference
As low- and middle-income countries grow, the structure of production, trade and employment changes; it is imperative for public finance policies to evolve in tandem with these changes. Depending on a country’s development model and natural resources, growth takes different forms, but it typically consists of an expansion of manufacturing and tertiary sectors, diversification of trade, and more limited reliance on primary sectors. Growth is also accompanied by increasing formalization of firms and employment, human capital accumulation and demographic shifts. The mix of tax instruments, the structure of unemployment insurance, and the financing of pension systems hence need to adapt in the process of structural change – and might also have an important role in fostering those changes.
The 2024 Public Finance Conference featured presentations from both micro and macro perspectives, that relate to the conference theme and inform policy design in low and middle-income countries. Topics included:
- Tax policies suitable for lower-income countries on a growth trajectory;
- Fiscal policy aimed at promoting structural transformation, including industrial policy;
- Fiscal and Labor market policies addressing high informality / promoting rapid formalization;
- Design of government pensions systems in low and middle-income countries;
Keynote Address
The keynote address was delivered by Chang-Tai Hsieh, Phyllis and Irwin Winkelried Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
Pre-Conference Side Event
Taking place just before the conference, 'The Business of Taxing Businesses in East Africa' event was held on Wednesday, September 25th at the World Bank MC Building. For more information and to watch the recordings, please visit the event website.
Public Finance Conference Agenda
All times are in EST
Click here to see the full program and biographies
