Public Sector Balance Sheet Database: Overview and Guide for Compilers and Users

Fiscal Policy and the Government Balance Sheet in China

“…More striking, estimates for 2019 put the net financial worth at less than a quarter of the peak-level reached in 2007. This is by no means exceptional as many other countries experienced similar declines in the aftermath of the GFC (Alves, De Clerck, and Gamboa, 2020). Nonetheless, several factors are worth noting:…”

“…Based on our newly assembled database, we can now sketch the composition of China's general government balance sheet as of 2019 and make cross-country comparisons using as benchmark a sample of 50 countries drawn from the IMF's database on public sector balance sheets (see, Alves, De Clerck, and Gamboa-Arbelaez 2020). A first insight of our analysis is that China had a relatively strong government balance sheet compared to peers prior to Covid-19.…”

“…Our analysis relies on official statistical sources and data from the IMF China Article IV consultations staff reports complemented with estimates based on academic research spanning the last two decades to fill data gaps. We also leverage the IMF's database on public sector balance sheets (see, Alves, De Clerck, and Gamboa-Arbelaez 2020) to benchmark China against other countries. Based on these data, we conduct an event study to assess the impact of major reforms-in particular, the restructuring of public (financial and non-financial) corporations during 1997-2007-undertaken by China compared to similar episodes around the world.…”

The State as Financier of Last Resort

“…International accounting and reporting standards provide guidance on including these measures in government balance sheets and fiscal documents. Given that many FSMs are delivered outside the general government (for instance, by central banks or development banks), financial reporting on a public sector basis assists tracking and understanding the broader picture of the interventions (IMF 2018, Alves, De Clerck, andGamboa Arbalaez 2020). Because of their uncertain nature, guarantees and other fiscal risks are not typically recorded in government financial statements and fiscal reports (IMF 2018).…”