Fiscal and Technical Support Consultant for IFD/FMM
Location: Washington DC
The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.
About this position:
The Fiscal Management Division (IFD / FMM) is looking for a consultant with extensive experience in fiscal policy and management, including growth, informality, equity, and climate change issues, as well as expertise in fiscal information management.
Founded in 1959, the Inter-American Development Bank (\"IDB\" or \"Bank\") is the main source of financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Providing loans, grants, guarantees, policy advice, and technical assistance to the public and private sectors of their borrowing countries.
For several decades, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have faced the structural challenges of low growth, high inequality, and recurring episodes of fiscal instability, all of which have been compounded by climate change-related challenges. Fiscal policy and management can help to tackle these challenges both directly, through government fiscal actions, and indirectly, by altering the behavior of individuals and companies through changes in their incentives. In LAC, however, the contribution of fiscal management to addressing these challenges has been constrained by weaknesses in institutional and policy frameworks. Therefore, more evidence is needed to formulate Evidence-Based Practices (EPBs) that lead to a higher collection, equity, and efficiency of public spending.
One area of particular importance is inequality, as LAC is the region in the world with the highest level of disposable income inequality. Even though several studies on the effects of government policies in inequality exist, more research is needed. For instance, an analysis of the incidence of fiscal policy on equity and poverty that also considers the impact generated by disincentives on behavior is necessary. FMM has been developing new tools and methodologies which will improve the institutional capacity of ministries of finance to manage equity. These tools and methodologies have as specific objectives the use empirical evidence to: (i) measure the impact of fiscal equity in various fiscal interventions; (ii) design policies conducive of redistribution through taxation, better spending targeting and prioritization, gender equity, and human capital opportunities; and reduce poverty and informality; and (iii) manage equity transversally through the various levels of government using fiscal tools. These tools allow to better quantify the effects on equity of different fiscal policies, both spending and taxation, by implementing analyzes of fiscal incidence on poverty and inequality through microsimulations using the household surveys.
FMM has also been working on the implementation or modernization of Fiscal Ecosystems, which improve the targeting of spending and tax benefits, which are crucial for improving equity and efficiency. These fiscal ecosystems take advantage of information technologies, to build large integrated databases that are used for the cross-checking of data, allowing for the detection of tax evasion and tax frauds, for the building of taxpayer risk profiles and the carrying out of more selective and effective audits and inspections, as well as to improve the targeting of public spending, particularly of assistance programs.
Another area of particular importance is that of public spending efficiency, particularly nowadays, in a context of increasing debt and deteriorating fiscal prospects due to inflationary pressures, the war on Ukraine, and rising interest rates, all of which have exacerbated the fiscal sustainability risks faced by LAC countries. In the flagship publication of the Inter-American Development Bank, Better Expenditures for Better Lives (Izquierdo, Pessino and Vuletin, IDB, Development in the Americas 2018), estimates were made of the technical efficiency of public spending of 4.4% of GDP. Given current fiscal pressures, it is important and highly demanded by countries to update and extend these estimates.
Finally, Ministries of Finance in the region are seeking support to develop methodologies and instruments to increase their contribution to climate change commitments through fiscal policy and management. The areas in which there is demand for technical assistance are: (i) evaluation of the fiscal implications of the strategies transition to low-carbon and resilient economies and their financing; (ii) incorporation of the climate dimension in spending and public investment management; (iii) application of environmental tax policies; and (iv) strengthening of the roles of the Ministries of Finance in matters of climate change. Furthermore, it is important to extend the methodology of technical and allocative efficiency of spending to prioritize climate change spending along strategies to strengthen carbon pricing in the region.
The Institutions for Development Sector (IFD) is responsible for conceptualizing, preparing, supporting the execution and supervising the Bank's operations related to governance, strengthening and reform of the public sector, decentralization, economic and fiscal issues, and market development. Capital and financial institutions, and competitiveness at the national, regional, and local levels.
The Fiscal Management Division (IFD/FMM) has the primary purpose of supporting the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen fiscal policy and management, both at the national and sub-national levels, in order to promote economic growth and reduction of inequity and poverty. To support the countries in this task, FMM finances projects to promote development through the following areas: (i) tax policy and administration; (ii) public spending policy and management; (iii) subnational fiscal policy and management; (iv) fiscal sustainability and macro-fiscal policy; and (v) fiscal transparency.
What you’ll do:
First responsibility: Review and update the methodology used to estimate the incidence of fiscal policies on income distribution; and supervise its implementation in different countries in the region. Second responsibility: Prepare a document with the study of incidence of taxation on inequality, including all diverse statutory taxes in at least 10 countries of LAC. Third responsibility: Support and advice on the different activities FMM is undertaking in its equity and informality initiatives. Fourth responsibility: Prepare an agenda for research and documents for fiscal policy in LAC to prioritize mitigation and adaptation of the effects of climate change based on evidence including price-based mechanisms, regulations and with a methodology to reallocate spending measuring technical and allocative efficiency and equity of public spending accounting for the lack of fiscal space in most countries of the region. Fifth responsibility: Work in proposals to improving efficiency and equity in spending and taxation in the region, including fiscal intelligent ecosystems. Sixth responsibility: Make presentations on the progress and findings of the investigations carried out and advise FMM specialists on their applicability in future IFD/FMM projects. Seventh responsibility: Support the management of FMM knowledge agenda.What you’ll need:
Education: master’s in economics or public policy, with solid knowledge of fiscal / applied economics, econometrics, and fiscal innovations. Ph.D. Degree preferred. Experience: 15 years of research and public policy experience in public, labor, tax or applied labor economics. Languages: Fluency in Spanish and English required.Key skills:
Learn continuously. Collaborate and share knowledge. Focus on clients. Communicate and influence. Innovate and try new things.The consultant must also possess flexibility and versatility to work on a wide range of fiscal problems and apply different econometric and data management techniques, as well as provide inputs in projects of the Division and under the supervision of senior specialists. The candidate must also be capable of writing technical and research texts.
Requirements:
Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries. Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab. COVID-19 considerations: the health and safety of our employees are our number one priority. As a condition of employment, IDB/IDB Invest requires all new hires to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.Type of contract and duration:
Type of contract: International Consultant Full-Time (CNS). Length of contract: 18 months. Work location: On Site.What we offer:
The IDB group provides benefits that respond to the different needs and moments of an employee’s life. These benefits include:
A competitive compensation packages. Leaves and vacations: 2 days per month of contract + gender- neutral parental leave. Health Insurance: the IDB Group provides a monthly allowance for the purchase of health insurance. Savings plan: The IDB Group cares about your future, depending on the length of the contract, you will receive a monthly savings plan allowance. We offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your family when it applies. Hybrid and flexible work schedules. Development support: We offer learning opportunities to boost your professional profile such as seminars, 1:1 professional counseling, and much more. Health and wellbeing: Access to our Health Services Center which provides preventive care and health education for all employees. Other perks: Lactation Room, Daycare Center, Gym, Bike Racks, Parking, and others.
This vacancy is archived.