Working Papers

There is currently no agreed comprehensive methodology on how to track and report on public climate finance. As a result, national actors need to agree on their own methodologies. In this working paper, we report on the result of the support the researchers offered to the Belgian actors that are (or could be) active in the provision of public climate finance to developing countries. In a second part of the working paper, the results are described of the process of supporting one Belgian actor, Credendo, on a more in-depth level. Recommendations are made for future reporting processes, both for Credendo and for the whole of the Belgian stakeholders active in this field. (download)

K. Bachus

There is currently no agreed comprehensive methodology on how to track and report on public climate finance. One of the difficulties is the valuation of financial instruments other than grants (i.e. loans, guarantees, equity). For loans, the calculation of the grant equivalent of the financial flow is relatively straightforward, but for equity, it is unclear what the best way is to value the grant equivalent. Hence, the primary objective of this research paper is to provide an overview of the variety of methods that can be used to value the provision of public climate finance to developing countries through equity investments. In this endeavour, special attention will be paid to recent debates taking place in the context of the modernisation of the OECD DAC statistical system. (download) 

K. Bachus

This study presents a case study on the value added-tax (VAT) with the objective to design appropriate policies aiming to improve domestic-resource mobilization in developing countries. Data from 18 DGD-partner countries (past and present) over the 1990-2012 period show that, although the performance of VAT has improved in recent years, many of these countries can close their resource gap by implementing reforms that improve the efficiency of their VAT system. We present an in-depth analysis on Bolivia to illustrate how such reforms could be designed. (download) 

R. Houssa

In this paper we test, empirically, to which extend the Value- Added Tax (VAT) is a relevant-policy option for developing countries aiming to improve upon their domestic resources mobilization (DRM). First, we investigate the contribution of VAT to tax collection across developed and developing countries. We also provide a comparative analysis between Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other developing countries. Second, we examine the role of institutional quality in enhancing domestic-tax mobilization in the presence of VAT adoption. (download) 

R. Houssa