Towards Sustainable Social Sector Expenditures in the New Member Countries of the European Union

Don't hesitate to comment below if you have any questions or additional phrases Towards Sustainable Social Sector Expenditures in the New Member Countries of the European Union Pradeep Mitra* Keynote presentation at an international conference on Advancing Economic Growth: Investing in Health Chatham House, London, June 22-23, 2005 *Chief Economist, Europe and Central Asia Region, World Bank Views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Bank ,Contents Size of Government Health sector: issues and reform options Pensions: issues and reform options Aging and some policy options Conclusions , New member states EU-15; Other high-income OECD*; Middle-income high-performing countries**; *USA, Australia and New Zealand; **The choice of middle-income high-performing countries varies from one chart to the next, in part dictated by data availability. This does not affect the comparisons made. Tax revenue is high for income level, especially in Central Europe … Source: IMF World Economic Outlook database; IMF Government Financial Statistics database; ,… driven by social security taxes * Malaysia, Tunisia, Brazil, Korea and Mexico; ** Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain; ***Australia, Japan, New Zealand and USA Source: IMF World Economic Outlook database; OECD in figures 2004 edition , New member states EU-15; Other high-income OECD*; Middle-income high-performing countries**; *USA, Australia and New Zealand; **Costa Rica, Israel, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Tunisia Public spending high for income level in Central Europe … Source: IMF World Economic Outlook database; IMF Government Financial Statistics database; OECD in figures 2004 edition ,… driven by social benefits, while … Source: IMF World Economic Outlook database; IMF Government Financial Statistics database; OECD in figures 2004 edition , New member states EU-15; Other high-income OECD*; Middle-income high-performing countries**; *USA, Australia and New Zealand; **Costa Rica, Chile, Israel, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore and Tunisia … capital spending relatively low, … Source: WB SIMA; IMF World Economic Outlook database , New member states EU-15; Other high-income Europe* *Switzerland and Norway … health spending is comparable to other European countries, and may even be on the low side in some new member states… Source: WB SIMA; IMF World Economic Outlook database , New member states EU-15; Other high-income Europe*; Middle-income high-performing countries**; *Switzerland and Norway; **Costa Rica, Chile, Israel, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore and Tunisia Amongst a wider group of comparators including well performing middle-income countries health spending is not out of line … Source: WB SIMA; IMF World Economic Outlook database , New member states EU-15; Other high-income OECD*; Middle-income high-performing countries**; *USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland and Norway; **Chile, Costa Rica, Israel, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, Thailand and Tunisia … while health outcomes are broadly in keeping with income level Expected years spent in poor health (for males at birth) Source: IMF World Economic Outlook database; WHO Statistical Information System ,Issues in the Health Sector However, commitments are higher than actual spending - health sector indebtedness is growing – and is particularly severe in the Visegrad countries. Only Estonia and Latvia, among the Baltic states, and Slovenia in Central Europe have managed to exercise adequate expenditure control Amongst the Visegrad countries, Slovakia has managed to reduce the recurring deficit in the health system (through introduction of user fees, changes in pharmaceutical procurement, and hospital restructuring) Going forward, advances in medical technology, inter alia, will generate pressures for higher spending ,Some options to contain upward pressures on health spending Addre