By Nathalie Beghin, Head of Policy, Inesc and Carmela Zigoni, Policy Advisor, Inesc— May 15, 2019
Democratic backsliding and rising poverty and inequality in Brazil have put gains made in fiscal transparency and accountability under severe threat. To bring Brazil back to its path towards more justice and equitable development, civil society must work together to rebuild the idea of democracy that has been eroded in recent times.
By Petra Blum— Apr 24, 2019
Topics such as fiscal policy, accountability, and fiscal justice do not usually generate sweeping media coverage. Why? Because these topics are complicated, not easy to break down, and hard to visualize. Yet recent exposés such as the Panama Papers show that the media can still make powerful contributions to the greater fiscal transparency cause.
By Shaazka Beyerle and Davin O’Regan, United States Institute of Peace— Apr 17, 2019
Social movements deploying various nonviolent tactics have consistently demonstrated the ability to achieve genuine – sometimes transformative – shifts in policy and government performance. The underlying dynamic involves grassroots organizing to amplify citizen voices and wield power. But can such bottom-up citizen initiatives be fostered to advance fiscal governance?
by Nikhil Dey, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan— Apr 10, 2019
There has been growing skepticism about the impact of transparency initiatives on fiscal accountability issues. India provides an outstanding example of how social movements have creatively and effectively used the People’s Right to Information to enforce a form of fiscal accountability that demonstrably connects allocations, expenditure, and policy with people and their priorities. How did this transformative process get initiated, and what lessons does it have for the future, and for its use in other parts of the globe?
By Delaine McCullough, Head of Climate Finance Accountability, International Budget Partnership — Apr 03, 2019
Climate change threatens the natural systems that our lives and economies depend on, so it is simultaneously an environmental, economic, and developmental issue. But it is also an equity issue. If you’re poor, female, or otherwise marginalized, the risk of losing your already limited assets, livelihood, and potentially your life is heightened by climate change. Failure to address this extra vulnerability as we tackle climate change will deepen existing poverty and inequality.
By Adi Kumar and Ryan Fester, Development Action Group— Mar 27, 2019
In South Africa’s metropolitan municipalities, civil society has limited influence over local government decision making, and most tactics to hold local governments accountable are failing. Can the emergence of cross-class and cross-race coalitions frame new forms of citizen participation and improve fiscal accountability?
By Paolo de Renzio and Alexandre Ciconello, International Budget Partnership — Mar 21, 2019
The International Budget Partnership has been working with a group of nine Latin American civil society organizations to promote research, advocacy, and learning around tax expenditures in the Latin American region. Recently, each group conducted research to examine how governments were using tax expenditures in their countries and to assess the impact of tax expenditures on inequality. Read more about how these groups are using their research findings to promote advocacy campaigns.
by Benjamin Cokelet, Founding Co-Executive Director, PODER— Mar 20, 2019
The power of transnational corporations and global economic and monetary institutions to influence national budgetary and financial decisions is overwhelming. Is it time for advocates to focus fiscal transparency and accountability efforts on the power of global capital?
Jason Lakin, International Budget Partnership— Mar 07, 2019
When the International Budget Partnership put out an open call for 25 civil society organizations to research budget credibility issues in their countries last year, we thought we would struggle to reach that number. But more than 70 groups applied, and their research was just one component of our larger Assessing Budget Credibility project, which looks at the degree to which governments raise and spend public money in accordance with approved budgets, and the causes and consequences of any deviations.
by Didier Jacobs, Senior Policy Advisor, Oxfam America— Mar 06, 2019
Governments are engaged in a race to the bottom on corporate taxation. Tax rates are falling and tax incentives are multiplying. This is bad news when it comes to financing development. Citizens must demand transparency and accountability regarding tax incentives, and regional and global cooperation to set a floor under corporate tax rates.
