Digital revolutions in public finance
Chair
Soumaya Keynes @SoumayaKeynes – Economics and Trade Correspondent, The Economist
Speakers
Michael Keen – Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund
Martin Lindpere – Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister, Government of Estonia
Patrick Dunleavy @PJDunleavy – Professor Political Science and Public Policy, London School of Economics
Clare Franklin @ClareFranklin01 – Tax Performance Advisory Leader Switzerland, Ernst and Young
Simon Gill @ODI_SimonGill – Head of Programme, Public Finance and Institutions, Overseas Development Institute
Sanjeev Gupta – Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund
Description
New digital technologies have the potential to revolutionise how governments raise and spend public money. By transforming how governments collect, process and act on information, digitalisation can expand and reshape fiscal policymaking, allowing them to operate better and, in the future, design policy in new and more effective ways.
Yet adopting new technologies also raises risks and challenges. Countries that seek to benefit from the digital revolution need to navigate institutional and capacity constraints. Privacy and cybersecurity concerns also call for greater international cooperation and regulation as information increasingly travels across borders.
The launch of the IMF’s new book on Digital Revolutions in Public Finance offers a timely opportunity to debate these fundamental questions and explore solutions to these challenges. The publication, a collaboration between the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, offers the first detailed assessment of the impact of digital technology on fiscal policy.
An excerpt of the IMF’s new book is now available online. Electronic copies of the full publication will be available in early November.
The event is followed by a networking reception.