Description
Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 130 locations worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org.
The Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions Practice Group (EFI) is one of the World Bank Group’s four Practice Groups. EFI’s mandate is “Growth, Finance, and Institutions for all.” Our approach is to leverage public and private sector expertise, together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to support a data-driven reform agenda. EFI supports clients in advancing evidence-based structural reforms to build the foundations for inclusive and sustainable growth.
EFI is composed of four Global Practices (GPs), and CGAP:
• The Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment (MTI) GP provides broad macroeconomic analysis in support of countries’ economic programs, including the analysis of macro-financial risks, and macroeconomic modelling services to the rest of the WBG. MTI supports sound fiscal frameworks and fiscal risk management as well as better institutions and capacity on debt management to improve efficiency of public spending and bolster macroeconomic stability.
• The Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) GP, consisting of two directorates (the Finance directorate, and the Trade, Investment and Competitiveness (TIC) directorate) aims to support client countries to create an enabling environment in which financial stability, efficiency and firm-level solutions are provided in an integrated way to crowd in the private sector, support the creation of markets, and accelerate equitable growth.
• The Governance GP (GOV) helps countries build capable, effective, accountable, transparent, and inclusive institutions that deliver citizen-centric services, facilitate private-sector growth, and build trust in government; and provides fiduciary support to all Bank operations.
• The Poverty and Equity GP (POV) consists of micro, labor, and development economists to build the evidence base, provide advice and operational support to ensure country policies and WBG interventions are inclusive.
• CGAP is a global partnership of more than 30 leading development organizations that works to advance the lives of poor people through financial inclusion.
MTI brings together about 530 professionals working across more than 100 countries. The Global Practice houses the Bank’s country economists and professional staff with expertise in macroeconomics, fiscal policy, growth, and statistics. About fifty percent of MTI professional staff are decentralized to the field, working very closely with the Country Management Units (CMUs) and directly with clients. MTI is responsible for delivering timely policy advice to support the following lines of work: (i) designing macro-fiscal frameworks that are aligned with the goals of reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity, as well as being grounded in economic, social and environmental sustainability; (ii) supporting fiscal and debt policy sustainability; (iii) generating growth analytics and policy recommendations to sustain and boost growth; and (iv) analyzing the impact of external shocks and climate change risks on growth and the government fiscal position. MTI professionals are responsible for the preparation and delivery of Development Policy Operations using both IDA and IBRD resources, and lead or participate in the preparation of Advisory Services and Analytics, Technical Assistance and integrative outputs such as Strategic Country Diagnostics, Country Economic Memorandums and cross-sector Public Finance Reviews. Important additional engagements in macroeconomic and fiscal policies are carried out through work on debt management (including through the Debt Management Facility) and work on macro-fiscal climate issues (including in support of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action). Knowledge and learning is a central part of MTI with work focused on 5 thematic areas: (a) macroeconomics; (b) fiscal policy; (c) growth; (d) economic management in resource-rich environments; and (e) statistics.
Within MTI, the Fiscal Policy, and Sustainable Growth Unit (EMFTX) provides effective support for World Bank Group operations to strengthen countries’ efforts in using tax and expenditure policy, the management of fiscal risks and fiscal planning for boosting equitable growth and underpinning macroeconomic stability. As a Global Unit, EMFTX provides technical advice, support and thought leadership on these issues to the wider GP’s operational work in the Regions.
The fiscal policy work covers overall fiscal policy design, public expenditure polices, and domestic revenue mobilization. This work includes:
• Preparation of analytic work, guidelines, tools, and data that support the Bank’s global engagement and the work by regional units on fiscal policy issues and quality of spending.
• Development and management of the BOOST program and Public Finance Review (PFR) Platform.
• Quality review and support to the Bank’s analytical and operational work such as PFRs, CEMs, and DPFs.
• Knowledge management on fiscal policy issues and fiscal policy work.
• Providing inputs to and managing fiscal policy aspects of corporate initiatives such as CPIAs.
• Engagement with other international stakeholders such as the IMF and the OECD on fiscal policy issues.
POSITION
The Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment Global Practice (MTI) is seeking to recruit a highly qualified candidate for the position of Tax Economist to work in the MTI’s unit for “Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth” (EMFTX). The Tax Economist will work on country tax policy analysis with focus on supporting tax reforms in developing and emerging economies. He/She is expected to provide technical expertise on tax issues across regions using World Bank instruments (Advisory Services and Analytics, and Lending), contribute to the unit’s interaction with senior management and partners, and conduct research and knowledge development.
DUTIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
This is a position for an Economist in Tax Policy (Tax Economist) in the Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth Unit. The staff will provide technical expertise to support the unit’s analytical work programs on taxation including public finance reviews, domestic revenue mobilization and fiscal federalism, and other work on tax and revenue management across countries covered by the unit. In this regard, the Tax Economist will contribute as a team member of development policy operations, analytical and advisory programs, technical assistance, and results-based operations across the unit across the region. She/he will also be part of cross-GP teams with a focus on tax policy reforms.
The selected candidate will be expected to undertake the following tasks:
• Develop and carry out empirical analysis on issues related to tax policy including both micro-data analysis and simulations and more aggregate/macro-based approaches. (e.g., tax policy analysis and modeling, tax gap/tax expenditure analysis, tax system and policy benchmarking).
• Help integrate them into a country’s work such as technical assistance, core diagnostics and lending operations.
• Assess tax expenditures in the personal income tax, corporate income tax and value added tax systems to assess revenue foregone and other effects based on different data sources and methodologies. Assist countries to improve their tax expenditure reports.
• Assess options for tax reforms and their impacts in a context of informal economy, taking into account linkages with avoidance, evasion, tax revenues, efficiency and equity.
• Participate actively in the EFI Practice Group work by supporting analytical tasks and lending operations in different regions of the World Bank with a primary focus on tax policies and contributing to the overall tax policy work at the EMFTX Unit.
• Assist in monitoring the results of tax reforms, including the WBG contribution.
• Upon request, promptly respond to queries from client countries and update the Bank’s senior management on tax policy issues.
• Contribute to external conferences and workshops and liaise with other technical providers on taxation.
• Contribute to internal and external taxation partnerships, particularly with the IMF, OECD, UN, and donor agencies.
Selection Criteria
• A Ph.D. in economics or a closely related discipline, with considerable experience in working on tax policy analysis is preferred. The minimum requirement to apply is a master’s degree with 5 years of practical experience as a tax economist, or an equivalent combination of education and experience in the government, academia or relevant consulting firms.
• Demonstrated capacity to undertake analytical work and research through the authorship or co-authorship of policy notes, reports and/or publications showing analysis of tax policy issues such as tax incentives, policy design of income taxation, property tax, VAT, and excise taxes.
• Experience in analysis of international and/ or environmental taxation would be an asset.
• Demonstrated knowledge of developing countries.
• Proven analytical skills and experience in working on broader macro-fiscal reforms, climate economics, and integration of tax issues in that context.
• Proficiency in using or building econometric model and/or models for country tax policy analysis such as microsimulation/tax gaps models is desirable. Confirmed knowledge of statistical software such as R or STATA.
• Operational experience in Development Policy Operations and other lending projects with revenue component would be an asset.
• A track record of outstanding report writing and communications skills, including the ability to present complex analyses to non-specialist audiences.
• Enthusiastic, energetic, and adaptable enough to work in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
REQUIRED COMPETENCIES
• Ability to work flexibly on a range of assignments and adjust to a variety of complex evolving tasks to meet tight deadlines.
• Advanced ability to apply economic and econometric tools to environmental, fiscal and growth sustainability.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills – A strong command of all forms of communication, delivering messages in a consistently effective, timely and engaging manner.
World Bank Group Core Competencies
The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.
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