AUTHORITIES AND EXPERTS WILL DEBATE EQUALITY IN FISCAL POLICY SEMINAR

Santiago, January 14- Regional and international authorities and experts will address fiscal challenges at the 23rd Regional seminar on fiscal policy, due to be held from 18 to 21 January at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in Santiago, Chile.

The seminar will be opened by Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, on Tuesday 18 January at 9.00 a.m.

The 23rd seminar will be attended by renowned international experts and senior fiscal authorities from Ministries of the Economy, Finance and Planning and from the central banks of Latin American countries and Spain.

Participants will address many topics during the seminar, including ECLAC's proposals for fiscal policy and productive transformation with equality, as set out in the document Time for equality: closing gaps, opening trails. The following recent publication will be presented: "Overview of the public sector in Latin America. Public management at a time for equality", and the impact of the public finance crisis on developed countries will also be discussed.

Other sessions will be used to analyse the actions and policies that have arisen from the United Nations Conference on Climate Change held in December 2010 in Cancún, Mexico, as well as the challenges of financing climate change, and the following ECLAC publication will be presented: Economics of Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Lastly, presentations will be made on the national development strategies of Latin American countries, their links to tax receipts and the budget, and fiscal actions and measures likely to boost inclusive economic development.

The seminar is being organized by the Office of the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, through the Latin American Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES), with joint sponsorship from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The seminar is also sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The Regional seminar on fiscal policy is held annually and seeks to promote the discussion of topical issues in the field of public finance and management, as well as the role of the State in the economy and society.

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