Public finance—how governments raise and spend money—is one of the most powerful tools for shaping national development. It influences everything from economic growth and income distribution to service delivery and crisis response. But in today’s world of high debt, economic uncertainty, climate threats, and post-pandemic recovery, managing public resources has become more complex than ever.
The Reimagining Public Finance (RPF) initiative, supported by the World Bank’s Financial Management Umbrella Program, sets out to rethink how governments can better link fiscal choices and public financial management (PFM) systems to tangible development outcomes. Instead of focusing only on budgets, accounting, and systems, the initiative asks a bigger question: How can smarter management of public funds directly improve people’s lives?
What’s New About the Approach?
The framework flips the traditional model. Rather than starting with systems and processes, it begins with the development outcomes governments want—like resilience to economic shocks, better learning results, or climate adaptation. From there, it works backward:
Identify the public sector results needed to achieve those outcomes.
Examine how fiscal policies and PFM systems (budgeting, procurement, auditing, etc.) can support them.
Address the bottlenecks—political, institutional, or systemic—that block progress.
This outcome-driven lens emphasizes not just policies and systems, but also the role of people and institutions—their incentives, interests, and capacity to deliver.
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What’s Next?
Over the coming months, the World Bank will convene stakeholders worldwide to test and refine this framework. The process will unfold in two phases:
Phase 1: Review and Reimagine – Global consultations, country case studies, and a major 2024 conference on the Future of Public Finance.
Phase 2: Apply and Scale – New tools, online resources, and country-level pilots to operationalize the approach.
At its core, Reimagining Public Finance is about moving from abstract fiscal systems to real-world results—ensuring that every dollar governments raise and spend contributes to stronger institutions, more resilient economies, and better lives for citizens.
