02271cas a2200241 a 4500 AALejournalIMF018124 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781484332917 1934-7685 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan : Selected Issues. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2017. 1 online resource (29 pages) IMF Staff Country Reports <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 This paper presents estimates of the fiscal revenue cost of conflict in Afghanistan, defined as the loss of government domestic revenue due to conflict. The loss of government revenue is an important component of the humanitarian costs of conflict. In Afghanistan, almost all security spending is funded by foreign grants, which will most likely be scaled back gradually in the event of peace. Hence, any fiscal peace dividend is likely to come principally from increased revenues, as reduced security spending will be mostly offset by reduced grants. Nevertheless, size and the statistical significance of the results suggest that the order of magnitude of the estimate, around USD 1 billion, is robust. By way of counterfactual, these results imply a sizeable potential fiscal dividend for Afghanistan should peace, or at least a significant reduction in violence, materialize. Several country-specific factors, including conflict and a landlocked geography, have held back an expansion in Afghanistan's trade which could increase the country's economic resilience. Improving its external connectivity is a key factor to unlocking its trade potential including leveraging its natural resources. Mode of access: Internet IMF Staff Country Reports; Country Report ; No. 2017/378 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/002/2017/378/002.2017.issue-378-en.xml IMF e-Library