Fiscal System 2.0: Achieving Redistribution and Sustainability

October 18, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Mānoa Campus, East-West Center, Research Program, Burns Hall, Room 3012 Add to Calendar

Fiscal System 2.0: Achieving Redistribution and Sustainability


Ricardo Cantú

Visiting Scholar, East-West Center

Ph.D. candidate in Public Policy, Tecnológico de Monterrey

Tuesday, October 18, 2016 | 12:00 noon to 1:00pm
John A. Burns Hall, Room 3012 (3rd floor)

As age increases, individuals' economic behaviors and decisions change. Consequently, from a fiscal perspective, a country's taxable resources and social service demands change as well, driven by the always-present demographic transitions. So, if a fiscal system is not properly attuned to face changes in population structure, its sustainability––i.e. the public indebtedness––and its redistribution design––i.e. the income equality intent––could be jeopardized and at stake. The age or generational dimension of the economies can help build projections––not predictions––of such changes in behavior and, therefore, of shifts in resources and services. Long-term financial assessments of public policies must continually be undertaken to adjust them, if necessary, with the goal of reducing future imbalances and, therefore, debt dependency. Hence, a demographic assessment of changing individual needs for public resources will be used to project demands on Mexico’s fiscal system which must adapt to the country’s aging population structure in order to be sustainable.


Ricardo Cant a Ph.D. candidate at the Technologic de Monterrey, is also the co-founder of an NGO (www.ciep.mx), based in Mexico City, that promotes understanding and enhances public debates through research, software innovation, and creative dissemination regarding the Mexican government’s public policies. His primary goal is to close the knowledge gap among policymakers and the public about the use, efficiency, cost, and redistribution of economic resources. Debt and inequality are their focal topics of interest, and he is programming an interactive website where people can change key parameters of the Mexican fiscal system and, consequently, recognize the long- and short-term effects of such changes.


Event Sponsor
East-West Center, Research Program, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Laura Moriyama, 944-7444, Laura.Moriyama@eastwestcenter.org

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