Fiscal Incidence in Belarus : A Commitment to Equity Analysis

Bornukova, Kateryna ; Shymanovich, Gleb ; Chubrik, Alexander

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: FISCAL INCIDENCE;    SOCIAL SPENDING;    INEQUALITY;    POVERTY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8216
RP-ID  :  WPS8216

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The paper employs the Commitment toEquity framework to present a first attempt at acomprehensive fiscal incidence analysis for Belarus,encompassing the revenue and expenditures components of thefiscal system, including direct and indirect taxes, as wellas direct, indirect, and in-kind transfers. The analysisreveals that fiscal policies in Belarus effectivelyredistribute income from the top to the bottom of the incomedistribution. Direct transfers, especially pensions, are themost equalizing and pro-poor of the fiscalinterventions—direct transfers and direct taxes lower thenational poverty headcount by 17 percentage points and lowerthe Gini index of inequality from 0.407 to 0.267. Some ofthe indirect taxes, by contrast, are regressive and indirecttransfers -- poorly targeted, such that the effect of thesecomponents of the fiscal system is not equalizing. Finally,the cost-efficiency of different parts of the fiscal systemin Belarus varies considerably. Unemployment benefits,pensions, and child benefits are found to be cost --efficient, while indirect subsidies are highlycost-inefficient. The analysis points toward possiblereforms that would allow reducing poverty and inequalitymore efficiently.