01830cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF003571 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781451861105 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Heller, Peter. Characterizing the Expenditure Uncertainties of Industrial Countries in the 21st Century / Peter Heller, David Hauner. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2005. 1 online resource (34 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students A number of uncertainties about long-term expenditure commitments in industrial countries are examined: (i) the assumptions underlying the projections, (ii) the potential to further reduce non-age-related expenditures, (iii) the implicitly assumed absence of "shocks," and (iv) the potential for raising revenue. This paper concludes that (i) there is scope, but within narrow limits, to reduce non-age-related expenditures; (ii) fiscal policy frameworks tend to understate risks; and (iii) prevailing tax rates leave little room for increasing taxation in the countries facing the strongest aging pressures. In sum, governments will have to adopt a much more ambitious fiscal policy stance to cope with aging populations. Mode of access: Internet Hauner, David. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2005/091 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2005/091/001.2005.issue-091-en.xml IMF e-Library