Social Assistance Transfers in Bosnia and Herzegovina : Moving Toward a More Sustainable and Better-Targeted Safety Net

World Bank

Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO INFORMATION;    ACCOUNTING;    ACTUAL BENEFIT;    ADMINISTRATIVE DATA;    AGRICULTURAL INCOMES;   

RP-ID  :  AAA33

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Public expenditures on non-insurancesocial protection cash transfers absorb a huge share of theentities' respective budgets. This level of spendingrequires buoyant public revenues. However, public revenueswill be under continuing pressure in view of the impendingeconomic crisis. Moreover, devoting a large proportion ofpublic funds to social transfers has the effect of crowdingout resources that could be devoted to public investmentswhich will be increasingly needed to stimulate growth as theeconomy begins to sag under the impact of the world economiccrisis. In addition, there is evidence that some rightsbased programs create disincentives for employment. Thissituation is fiscally unsustainable, economicallyinefficient, and socially inequitable. Bosnia andHerzegovina (BH) needs to completely overhaul it snon-insurance social protection cash transfer programs.There are many ways in which BH could reform these programsand put in place measures aimed at developing a socialsafety net that is: (a) less of a burden on publicresources, (b) more efficient, and (c) better targeted tothe poor. Specifically, it is recommended that thegovernments in BH consider a three pronged approach withmeasures to: 1) improve and introduce targeting mechanismsto better channel resources to the poor; 2) strengthenbenefits administration and beneficiary registry systems;and, 3) rationalize disability-related benefit schemes. Anincreasingly widespread recognition of the need forrationalization of the non-insurance social protection cashbenefits is discernible in both the decision-making circlesand in the public discourse in BH.