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NewsWhore
09-21-2011, 07:20 PM
At an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce yesterday to discuss the fiscal challenges in the Dominican Republic, three economists warned that the level of spending and the consequences of high taxation are a burden for the country's development. The economists said that the government must exercise its role as a regulator, creating competitive conditions for the efficient development of private sector businesses.

Carlos Asilis highlighted the low development level of institutions in the Dominican Republic, especially when it comes to the government's role in the economy. He says this makes it difficult to adopt countercyclical measures in the medium range.

Leonardo Conde commented that public spending is not sustainable. He highlighted that it had doubled from RD$158 billion in 2005 to RD$313 billion in 2010, and should be more than RD$327 billion this year. This situation is occurring despite a decline in capital investments from 26% in 2008 to 22% in 2009 and 2010. "This means the money spent is not being invested."

He mentioned the country had a trade balance surplus of US$1 billion up to 2004, and has fallen to a deficit of US$4.4 billion in 2010.

Peter Prazmowski concurred that the country's fiscal policy was not sustainable and spending, revenues and the public debt needed to be evaluated. He said that fiscal policy is a burden for the development of the country's productive apparatus. He called for a reduction in the size of the government, stressing that the role of the government should be one of regulator.

http://www.listin.com.do/economia-and-negocios/2011/9/20/204274/Economistas-sugieren-manejar-con-prudencia-el-gasto

See http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-competitiveness-report-2011-2012 for details on the high ranking of the Fernandez administration regarding wasteful spending.

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