Katherine Baer is an economist and, until recently, the deputy director of the International Monetary Fund's Fiscal Affairs Department. In recent years, she led the IMF's work on taxation and public financial management, supervised technical advice on all fiscal topics to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, and monitored implementation of the IMF's strategy to strengthen fiscal policies and institutions in fragile and conflict-affected states. She has devoted her career to strengthening fiscal policies and institutions in countries across all regions and income levels, with a focus on developing economies and countries experiencing economic crises. Upon the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, she advised Southern/Eastern European and Central Asian countries in modernizing their tax and customs systems to transition to a market economy and to prepare for EU accession. She has also been an economist in the US Treasury's Office of Tax Policy and an assistant commissioner in the Mexican Tax and Customs Administration. Baer has many publications relating to public finance. Her latest research has focused on the link between effective tax administration and the level of tax compliance; the revenue yield of the VAT after its introduction; and fiscal policies and institutions to support women's participation in the economy.