Publication: Mitigating the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Public Sector Health Spending
Date
2009-08
ISSN
Published
2009-08
Author(s)
Schneider, Pia
Abstract
The current global financial crisis is
having a substantial impact in Europe and Central Asia (ECA)
where economic growth is beginning to dip, unemployment is
rising and government revenues are being cut. The Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of the region is
projected to decline by 4.7 percent in 2009 and the flow of
remittances is also expected to slow down sharply, causing
particular hardship to low-income groups. While countries
with fiscal capacity have adopted stimulus packages to
promote economic recovery, most ECA countries are
financially constrained and have revised their government
budgets, including in the health sector. Thus, as a result
of the crisis, public spending on health may actually
decrease in absolute amounts and in percentage of GDP. The
health sectors in most ECA countries are mainly financed
from public sources. In countries with low levels of public
spending on health3, the majority of health services are
paid for by patients. Any reductions in public health
spending would thus only add to the out-of-pocket
expenditures of patients, and may negatively affect access
to care, particularly for the poor. There is increasing
empirical evidence that public sector spending improves
health indicators in low-income and transition countries,
particularly in countries that have good governance systems
in place.
Citation
“Schneider, Pia. 2009. Mitigating the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Public Sector Health Spending. Europe and Central Asia Knowledge Brief; Volume No. 8. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/e7d0c551-ad8b-5a0c-8ad5-fbad056d3b4b License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”