The Distributional Impact of Fiscal Policy in Honduras

22 Pages Posted: 16 Jul 2008

See all articles by Robert Gillingham

Robert Gillingham

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

David Locke Newhouse

World Bank

Irene Yackovlev

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Date Written: July 2008

Abstract

This paper uses household survey data to estimate the incidence of tax and spending programs in Honduras. Any such exercise is fraught with difficulty, so our simplifying assumptions are carefully explained. Rather than look at tax and spending completely independently, we evaluate net incidence of major programs - such as health care and pensions - to get a more holistic evaluation of redistribution. Our results show that fiscal policy is, on balance, progressive, but that there is room for significant improvement. In particular, energy subsidies, university education and public pension programs provide disproportionate benefits to higher-income households.

Keywords: Working Paper

Suggested Citation

Gillingham, Robert and Newhouse, David Locke and Yackovlev, Irene, The Distributional Impact of Fiscal Policy in Honduras (July 2008). IMF Working Paper No. 08/168, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1160058

Robert Gillingham

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street NW
Washington, DC 20431
United States

David Locke Newhouse (Contact Author)

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Irene Yackovlev

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

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