Central America Social Expenditures and Institutional Review : Nicaragua
Nicaragua has had decent economic growth in the past decade, which has contributed to substantial poverty reduction (the largest in Central America), as well as improvements in human development indicators. Fiscal accounts have deteriorated recentl...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/449921480409292571/Central-America-Social-expenditures-and-institutional-review-Nicaragua http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25765 |
| Summary: | Nicaragua has had decent economic growth
in the past decade, which has contributed to substantial
poverty reduction (the largest in Central America), as well
as improvements in human development indicators. Fiscal
accounts have deteriorated recently, which may pose some
challenges to the sustainability of current levels of
financing for social sector expenditures. Better planning
and monitoring of social spending are needed to improve
Nicaragua’s budget management. While Nicaragua has a
medium-term development plan, the use of results-oriented
budget formulation is still in its early stages. Low and
inefficient public spending in education, coupled with
outdated legal and institutional frameworks and high dropout
rates present are significant barriers to increasing
enrollment and providing quality education. Progress in key
areas such as child and maternal mortality, but lowest per
capita health spending in Central America, as well as
institutional and governance challenges limit coverage and
quality of services. There is need for increased spending in
social assistance interventions, better coordination among
implementing agencies, and revised targeting to ensure
decent coverage of programs among the poorest. Government
policies also reflect the need for improved controls and
implement social audits, which are considered a pillar of
participatory governance. However, these still need to be
implemented on a broader scale and publicly disseminated. |
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