Belarus Public Expenditure Review : Enhancing Public Services in Times of Austerity
This report is the second volume of the programmatic Public Expenditure Review (PER) in Belarus. In 2010 the Ministry of Finance requested that the Bank provide sequenced and targeted advice on the fiscal reform options across priority areas of the...
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2013
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Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/02/17536588/belarus-public-expenditure-review-enhancing-public-services-times-austerity http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13209 |
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okr-10986-132092021-04-23T14:03:07Z Belarus Public Expenditure Review : Enhancing Public Services in Times of Austerity World Bank FISCAL REFORM HUMAN CAPACITY INTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONS LIVING STANDARDS PENSION SYSTEM PUBLIC SERVICES PUBLIC SPENDING PRODUCTIVITY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE This report is the second volume of the programmatic Public Expenditure Review (PER) in Belarus. In 2010 the Ministry of Finance requested that the Bank provide sequenced and targeted advice on the fiscal reform options across priority areas of the budget. Responding to this request, a programmatic PER was agreed upon. The first volume was delivered in November 2011 and focused on providing policy options for a sustainable pension system, better targeted social assistance and rationalization of energy and agricultural subsidies. The objective of this volume is to identify reform opportunities to enhance the quality of key public services in a fiscally constrained environment. Specifically, the second PER will analyze three key areas of the budget: intergovernmental fiscal relations and public spending in the education and health sectors. These three areas were chosen because they are significant from a fiscal perspective. More than half of government spending is channeled through sub-national governments, while education and health spending together account for a quarter of government spending (largely at the sub-national level). Beyond their fiscal importance, enhancing the quality and efficiency of spending in these sectors is critical for improving living standards and human capital in Belarus. However, since public finances are expected to remain tight for some years to come, expenditures, even in priority sectors such as health and education, will remain constrained. Therefore, the focus of this report is on the productivity of public spending. The primary thrust is to enhance the allocated and operational efficiency of resources to allow for improved quality of services and social outcomes while containing overall costs. The report also examines the impact of Belarus changing demographic profile, which will have a significant and lasting impact on demand for both health and education services. The report has four chapters. The first chapter reviews recent macro-economic and fiscal developments, and in particular the impact of the macro-economic crises on public finances and its implications for fiscal policy choices going forward. The second chapter examines intergovernmental fiscal relations and the fiscal incentives they create for sub-national governments. The third chapter looks at health sector outcomes and expenditures to identify opportunities for improved spending efficiency and sustainable health care financing. The fourth chapter is focused on resource allocation and utilization in the education sector to provide options for improved efficiency and effectiveness of education spending. 2013-04-18T20:51:35Z 2013-04-18T20:51:35Z 2013-02-21 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/02/17536588/belarus-public-expenditure-review-enhancing-public-services-times-austerity http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13209 English en_US CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank Washington, Dc Economic & Sector Work :: Public Expenditure Review Economic & Sector Work Europe and Central Asia Belarus |
repository_type |
Digital Repository |
institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
institution |
Digital Repositories |
building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
collection |
World Bank |
language |
English en_US |
topic |
FISCAL REFORM HUMAN CAPACITY INTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONS LIVING STANDARDS PENSION SYSTEM PUBLIC SERVICES PUBLIC SPENDING PRODUCTIVITY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE |
spellingShingle |
FISCAL REFORM HUMAN CAPACITY INTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONS LIVING STANDARDS PENSION SYSTEM PUBLIC SERVICES PUBLIC SPENDING PRODUCTIVITY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE World Bank Belarus Public Expenditure Review : Enhancing Public Services in Times of Austerity |
geographic_facet |
Europe and Central Asia Belarus |
description |
This report is the second volume of the
programmatic Public Expenditure Review (PER) in Belarus. In
2010 the Ministry of Finance requested that the Bank provide
sequenced and targeted advice on the fiscal reform options
across priority areas of the budget. Responding to this
request, a programmatic PER was agreed upon. The first
volume was delivered in November 2011 and focused on
providing policy options for a sustainable pension system,
better targeted social assistance and rationalization of
energy and agricultural subsidies. The objective of this
volume is to identify reform opportunities to enhance the
quality of key public services in a fiscally constrained
environment. Specifically, the second PER will analyze three
key areas of the budget: intergovernmental fiscal relations
and public spending in the education and health sectors.
These three areas were chosen because they are significant
from a fiscal perspective. More than half of government
spending is channeled through sub-national governments,
while education and health spending together account for a
quarter of government spending (largely at the sub-national
level). Beyond their fiscal importance, enhancing the
quality and efficiency of spending in these sectors is
critical for improving living standards and human capital in
Belarus. However, since public finances are expected to
remain tight for some years to come, expenditures, even in
priority sectors such as health and education, will remain
constrained. Therefore, the focus of this report is on the
productivity of public spending. The primary thrust is to
enhance the allocated and operational efficiency of
resources to allow for improved quality of services and
social outcomes while containing overall costs. The report
also examines the impact of Belarus changing demographic
profile, which will have a significant and lasting impact on
demand for both health and education services. The report
has four chapters. The first chapter reviews recent
macro-economic and fiscal developments, and in particular
the impact of the macro-economic crises on public finances
and its implications for fiscal policy choices going
forward. The second chapter examines intergovernmental
fiscal relations and the fiscal incentives they create for
sub-national governments. The third chapter looks at health
sector outcomes and expenditures to identify opportunities
for improved spending efficiency and sustainable health care
financing. The fourth chapter is focused on resource
allocation and utilization in the education sector to
provide options for improved efficiency and effectiveness of
education spending. |
format |
Economic & Sector Work :: Public Expenditure Review |
author |
World Bank |
author_facet |
World Bank |
author_sort |
World Bank |
title |
Belarus Public Expenditure Review : Enhancing Public Services in Times of Austerity |
title_short |
Belarus Public Expenditure Review : Enhancing Public Services in Times of Austerity |
title_full |
Belarus Public Expenditure Review : Enhancing Public Services in Times of Austerity |
title_fullStr |
Belarus Public Expenditure Review : Enhancing Public Services in Times of Austerity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Belarus Public Expenditure Review : Enhancing Public Services in Times of Austerity |
title_sort |
belarus public expenditure review : enhancing public services in times of austerity |
publisher |
Washington, Dc |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/02/17536588/belarus-public-expenditure-review-enhancing-public-services-times-austerity http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13209 |
_version_ |
1764422622758567936 |