Structural Fiscal Balances Database for LAC: A Tool to Assess Fiscal Performance in the Region

By Fiscal Management Division (VPS/IFD/FMM)

The Structural Fiscal Balances Database for LAC is an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) dataset that estimates structural fiscal balances (SFBs) for 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under different assumptions about the output gap and structural commodity prices. Structural fiscal balances strip out the effects of the business cycle and temporary commodity-price swings to reveal the underlying fiscal stance of governments.

What makes it distinctive

The database differs from much existing work on structural fiscal balances in three ways:

  1. Revenue-specific cyclical adjustment. Rather than applying a single elasticity, it calculates individual elasticities for each source of revenue (for example direct taxes, indirect taxes, and revenues from non-renewable resources). Because different revenue types respond differently to changes in the output gap, this disaggregated approach allows a more fine-tuned cyclical adjustment.
  2. Real-time estimates. Beyond actual SFBs, it provides estimates of the SFBs that would have resulted had the output-gap projections available to policymakers at the time of designing fiscal policy (data in real time) been correct, in contrast to purely ex post analyses based on actual and revised output-gap information.
  3. Fiscal-response measures. It offers measures of the fiscal impulse, assessing both the actual and the intentional fiscal stance, as well as the degree of procyclicality of fiscal policy.

Coverage and use

The dataset covers 20 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean over the period 1990–2014. It is a tool to assess fiscal performance in the region and supports research and policy analysis on fiscal management, fiscal policy, government budgets, and tax collection. Data are provided as CSV and XLSX files.

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Metadata & use

Identifier https://doi.org/10.60966/z5qn-6b44
License Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 IGO
Related Knowledge Product
Citation

Ardanaz, Martín, et al. (2015). Structural Fiscal Balances Database for LAC: A Tool to Assess Fiscal Performance in the Region. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/z5qn-6b44

Published date 2015-06-30
Modified date 2026-07-15
Tags/Keywords Fiscal Management · Fiscal Policy · Government Budget · Tax Collection
Language
  1. English
Temporal coverage 1990-2014
Country
Argentina
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Trinidad & Tobago
Uruguay
Venezuela
Region Latin America and the Caribbean
Publisher
Inter-American Development Bank
Author
Ardanaz, Martín
Gonzales, Alberto
Tolsa Caballero, Nuria
Data collection type Observational Data
Statistical type Panel Data
Data structure Structured Data
Data notes

What does this dataset contain?

It contains estimates of structural fiscal balances (SFBs) for 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, produced under different assumptions about the output gap and structural commodity prices. It also includes measures of the fiscal impulse and of the procyclicality of fiscal policy.

What is a structural fiscal balance?

A structural fiscal balance is a fiscal balance adjusted to remove the influence of the business cycle and of temporary commodity-price movements, so that the underlying fiscal stance of a government can be assessed. This database estimates such balances under different assumptions about the output gap and structural commodity prices.

How many countries and which region does it cover?

It covers 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, among others.

What time period does the database cover?

The database covers the period from 1990 to 2014.

How is the cyclical adjustment of revenues done?

Instead of using a single elasticity, the database calculates individual elasticities for each source of revenue, such as direct taxes, indirect taxes and revenues from non-renewable resources. Because these revenue types respond differently to changes in the output gap, this disaggregated approach allows a more fine-tuned adjustment.

What are real-time estimates and why do they matter?

In addition to actual SFBs, the database provides estimates of the balances that would have resulted had the output-gap projections available to policymakers when they designed fiscal policy (data in real time) been correct. This contrasts with much existing work, which performs only an ex post analysis using actual and revised output-gap information.

Can the dataset be used to assess fiscal policy response to the business cycle?

Yes. It provides measures of the fiscal impulse, assessing both the actual and the intentional fiscal stance, as well as the degree of procyclicality of fiscal policy.

Who created and published this dataset?

It was created by Martín Ardanaz, Alberto Gonzales and Nuria Tolsa Caballero, and published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

In what formats is the data available?

The dataset is provided as a CSV file and an XLSX (Excel) file.

What license applies to this dataset?

It is released under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 IGO license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/).

How do I cite this dataset?

Cite it as: Ardanaz, Martín, et al. (2015). Structural Fiscal Balances Database for LAC: A Tool to Assess Fiscal Performance in the Region. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/z5qn-6b44

Dataset files

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