Income Support for the Poorest : A Review of Experience in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Tesliuc, Emil ; Pop, Lucian ; Grosh, Margaret ; Yemtsov, Ruslan

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: ABSOLUTE POVERTY;    ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE;    ACCOUNTABILITY;    ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS;    AGRICULTURAL SECTOR;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-1-4648-0237-9
RP-ID  :  89068

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Most countries in the world aspire toprotect poorest and most vulnerable families fromdestitution and thus provide some type of income support tothose who are very poor. These programs are often layeredinto social policy along with other transfers, subsidies, orservices. The way to best provide such last-resort incomesupport (LRIS) and its role in wider social policy is amatter of some complexity, much experimentation, and muchstudy. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 28 of 30countries operate LRIS programs. This study examines theexperience of LRIS programs in Eastern Europe and CentralAsia. It documents the outcomes of such programs throughoutthe region in terms of expenditure, coverage, targeting, andsimulated effects on poverty and inequality. For a subset ofcountries, the study documents and draws lessons from thedesign and implementation arrangements - institutionalframeworks and administrative structures, eligibilitydetermination, benefits and conditions, governancemechanisms, and administrative costs on the basis ofinformation gleaned during in-depth country engagements thathave extended a decade or more (Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria,the Kyrgyz Republic, Lithuania, and Romania) and otherdetailed work available from newer or more specificengagements (Croatia, the Russian Federation, Serbia,Ukraine, and Uzbekistan). The report is organized asfollows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter twoprovides an overview of the role of LRIS in the wider socialassistance policies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.Chapter three looks into the institutional and financingarrangements of the LRIS programs in the case studycountries. Chapter four covers one of the two most chargedissues in narrowly targeted LRIS programs - how eligibilityis determined. Chapter five takes up the other charged issuein these programs - the benefit formula and how labordisincentives can be held in check with the guaranteedminimum income design. Chapter six focuses on two keyelements of control and accountability systems in LRISprograms - modern management information systems andstrategies to reduce error, fraud, and corruption. Chapterseven examines the administrative costs of the LRIS programsin the case study countries. Chapter eight highlights andsummarizes the lessons.