Publication: Social Assistance Transfers in Bosnia and Herzegovina : Moving Toward a More Sustainable and Better-Targeted Safety Net
Date
2009-04-30
ISSN
Published
2009-04-30
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Public expenditures on non-insurance
social protection cash transfers absorb a huge share of the
entities' respective budgets. This level of spending
requires buoyant public revenues. However, public revenues
will be under continuing pressure in view of the impending
economic crisis. Moreover, devoting a large proportion of
public funds to social transfers has the effect of crowding
out resources that could be devoted to public investments
which will be increasingly needed to stimulate growth as the
economy begins to sag under the impact of the world economic
crisis. In addition, there is evidence that some rights
based programs create disincentives for employment. This
situation is fiscally unsustainable, economically
inefficient, and socially inequitable. Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BH) needs to completely overhaul it s
non-insurance social protection cash transfer programs.
There are many ways in which BH could reform these programs
and put in place measures aimed at developing a social
safety net that is: (a) less of a burden on public
resources, (b) more efficient, and (c) better targeted to
the poor. Specifically, it is recommended that the
governments in BH consider a three pronged approach with
measures to: 1) improve and introduce targeting mechanisms
to better channel resources to the poor; 2) strengthen
benefits administration and beneficiary registry systems;
and, 3) rationalize disability-related benefit schemes. An
increasingly widespread recognition of the need for
rationalization of the non-insurance social protection cash
benefits is discernible in both the decision-making circles
and in the public discourse in BH.
Citation
“World Bank. 2009. Social Assistance Transfers in Bosnia and Herzegovina : Moving Toward a More Sustainable and Better-Targeted Safety Net. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18607 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”