Suchergebnisse

CHALLENGES IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE MINIMUM INCOME SYSTEMS IN CROATIA AND SLOVENIA ABSTRACT Minimum income systems in the countries of the European Union are an important instrument in the policy of fighting poverty. Although in several strategic documents of various EU institutions, member states are invited to improve their minimum income systems and the recommendations how to do it are included, in a large number of EU countries, including Croatia, the aforementioned recommendations are still awaiting implementation. Therefore, the main goal of this work is to achieve a deeper insight into the potentials and challenges of the minimum income system in their focus on poverty alleviation and better social integration of their users in Croatia and Slovenia through a comparative analysis of the minimum income systems in Croatia and Slovenia. For the comparison and evaluation of the minimum income systems, numerous indicators will be analysed, such as the rate of adequacy of the minimum income and the rate of coverage of the poor by the minimum income for the period from 2018 to 2020. Elements of the availability of the minimum income system to citizens will be analysed, such as the complexity of the application process and the complexity of the method of checking income and assets, the so-called means test. At the end, after the analysis, certain recommendations for improving the minimum income system in the Republic of Croatia will be presented. Key words: minimum income; poverty; social exclusion; social integration

Visoke i rastuće regionalne ekonomske nejednakosti u Hrvatskoj uz »parcijalnu decentralizaciju« sustava socijalne skrbi rezultirale su porastom socijalnih nejednakosti među hrvatskim građanima. Spomenuti procesi rezultirali su situacijom da se jedno od temeljnih načela socijalne države i socijalne politike kao što je načelo jednakosti sve više narušava. Navedeno ima za posljedicu da razina ostvarenja socijalnih prava građana u Hrvatskoj u sve većoj mjeri ovise o mjestu stanovanja i socioekonomskom statusu. Navedena tvrdnja je središnja hipoteza rada koja je eksplicirana analizom dostupnosti institucionalne skrbi za starije osobe po županijama u Hrvatskoj i lokalnih socijalnih programa izabrane četiri jedinice lokalne samouprave. Provedena analiza pokazala je značajnu razinu međužupanijskih nejednakosti u dostupnosti institucionalne skrbi za starije te isto tako analizom izdvajanja i strukture lokalnih socijalnih programa demonstrirala da je stupanj ostvarenja socijalnih prava građana Hrvatske u značajnoj mjeri neujednačen i ovisan o mjestu stanovanja i socioekonomskom statusu. Uzroci za navedenu situaciju nalaze se u neuspješnim politikama ujednačavanja regionalnog razvoja i parcijalno provedenoj decentralizaciji sustava socijalne skrbi. Zaključno poglavlje donosi određene preporuke za nositelje ekonomske i socijalne politike kojima bi se demonstrirane i rastuće socijalne nejednakosti hrvatskih građana potencijalno ublažile. ; High and increasing regional economic inequality with 'partial decentralization' of social welfare system in Croatia resulted in an increase of social inequality among Croatian citizens. The aforementioned processes resulted in a situation in which one of fundamental principles of social welfare and social policy, such as the principle of equality, is being seriously impaired. The result of that is that the realization of social rights of citizens in Croatia is increasingly dependent on the place of residence and socio-economic status. This claim is a central hypothesis of the paper which was demonstrated by analyzing the availability of institutional care for the elderly by county in Croatia and an analysis of local social programs of four selected units of local self-government. The analysis demonstrated a significant level of inter-county disparities in the availability of institutional care for the elderly and the analysis of local social programs has shown that the degree of realization of social rights of Croatian citizens is largely uneven and dependent on the place of residence and socio-economic status. The causes for that situation had come from the unsuccessful policies of harmonization of regional development and partial decentralization of the social welfare system. The final chapter provides specific recommendations for economic and social policy makers with potential positive effects which would decrease social inequality of Croatian citizens in the future.

Focusing on human capital, social investments provide an answer to the social challenges facing social development in recent decades. In the context of human capital, investing in health has multiple channels of influence especially if it is present from an early age: a person will stay active longer, be more productive and contribute to the economy and society. The paper aims to gain an insight into the extent to which Croatia's health policy is in line with the concept of social investment presented through the European Commission's document Investing in Health, which builds on the basic document on social investment: Towards Social Investment for Growth and Cohesion. For this purpose, the analysis of strategic health policy documents and the comparative analysis of data on investments in the health system from both the Eurostat database and domestic data sources are used. There is also a detailed comparative analysis of (in) equality of access to health services in Croatia in the EU context, and of the importance of individual components of health care from the perspective of social investment. It is noticed that the Croatian health policy follows the idea of social investment described in the document Investing in Health with certain shortcomings, but there is a shift towards overcoming some shortcomings such as, for example, a serious lack of evaluation in the implementation of certain measures and programs adopted. Key words: health investment, social investments, human capital, health policy

The ESSPROS methodology was first used in Croatia in 2018 to collect data on social protection expenditure in local government, for the year 2017. The aim of this research is to use these data to reveal the level of social inequalities between regional government units (counties) in Croatia and to demonstrate the Matthew effect in the functioning of local welfare policies. Quantitative analysis has demonstrated a significant level of spatial and local disparities in the availability of institutional care for the elderly and children, as well as uneven social protection in terms of the provision of cash or in-kind benefits. The Matthew effect in the local social protection can be found in different forms in different social protection programmes which are provided at the local level, with the general rule that the more developed local units invest more in social services and provide greater cash benefits to their citizens. The underdevelopment of these services is particularly noticeable in the less developed, eastern part of Croatia (counties of Slavonia), while at the same time, highly developed social services are provided in the City of Zagreb. Over the last 20 years, uneven economic development and partial decentralisation have created a situation in Croatia in which one of the fundamental principles of social welfare and social policy, the principle of equality, has been seriously compromised. This has brought about the problem of double inequalities: economic ones, as a result of a lower level of development and continuous lagging behind in the development of local and regional self-government units, and social inequalities, as a result of the inability of less developed units to provide similar levels of social protection to their citizens.

The social economy sector in Croatia has been neglected for a long time and has not been recognized as a space for sustainable jobs and the development of a more inclusive and cohesive society, as is the case in many Eastern and Central European countries. On the other hand, social entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon established in this century. The aim of this paper is to assess the trends and challenges of social economy development in Croatia as the newest, last EU member state. On the basis of a secondary data analysis, the paper scrutinizes trends in social economy development. Social entrepreneurship is analysed as a part of the social economy that is strengthening, as well as the economic activity of associations that tends to turn into a social economy or a solidarity economy. The paper will also give an overview of the instances of the institutional context of the development of cooperatives and social enterprises, such as the recent legislative and policy changes, as well as the institutional framework with some insights into recommendations how to promote the development of the social economy sector in Croatia. Keywords: social economy; cooperative sector; social enterprises; Croatia.

Programi socijalnog poduzetništva od svojih su početaka u većini europskih zemalja usmjereni na integraciju marginaliziranih i teško zapošljivih skupina na tržište rada. Rehabilitirani ovisnici predstavljaju jednu od marginaliziranih skupina u društvu, za koje su tradicionalni načini za pristup tržištu rada zatvoreni. Određena istraživanja ukazuju na gotovo dvostruko veću nezaposlenost rehabilitiranih ovisnika u odnosu na opću populaciju. Zemlje Zapadne Europe u značajnoj mjeri koriste potencijal socijalnog poduzetništva kao instrument zapošljavanja skupina isključenih iz društva. Napori koji se ulažu u ovo područje u zemljama Srednje i Istočne Europe znatno su manji, a to pokazuje i primjer Republike Hrvatske. Ovaj se rad bavi komparativnom analizom programa socijalnog poduzetništva, čiji je fokus zapošljavanje rehabilitiranih ovisnika, u zemljama Europske Unije i Hrvatskoj. Rad na temelju provedene analize donosi preporuke za unaprjeđenje praktičnih aktivnosti i socijalnopoduzetničkih projekata namijenjenih kvalitetnijoj integraciji rehabilitiranih ovisnika na tržište rada.

The context of today's debates about social policies is marked by the negative effects of the economic crisis and new social risks. There is a need for re-designing of the welfare state, which should take into account the new changes and trends, including demographic changes, changes in the labour market and family structure. As a possible answer to the aforementioned social changes and new social risks, especially in the EU countries, a concept of social investment is developing. The paper presents the characteristics of social investment, the way in which it appears in European strategic documents and refers to the criticism of the concept. Social investment is a new concept which in its essence implies a double return on investment: financial return on invested capital on the one hand and the achievement of positive social returns on the other. It is focused on the future; on support of the children and families, work activation and coping with new social risks throughout the life cycle. The authors have analyzed, using the data that show the long-term changes in the structure of social costs in European countries, to what extent has the concept 'come to life' in the European area. The analysis shows that, for now, there is no significant shift in European welfare states towards social investment, with the exception of the Scandinavian countries, and therefore we cannot speak about its achievements and effectiveness. The concept of social investment for now remains a normative platform and an ambiguous policy attempt for reconciling economic and social logic of the welfare state in new conditions. Nevertheless, social investment is becoming a part of social policy and it remains to be seen how much will it be further encouraged as an attempt to respond to new social risks and a possible way of re-thinking the welfare state. ; Kontekst današnjih rasprava o socijalnim politikama obilježen je negativnim učincima ekonomske krize te novim socijalnim rizicima. Postoji potreba za redizajniranjem socijalne države koja bi trebala uzeti u obzir nove izazove i trendove, uključujući demografske, promjene na tržištu rada i obiteljskoj strukturi. Kao mogući odgovor na navedene promjene i izazove novih socijalnih rizika, posebice u zemljama EU-a, javlja se koncept socijalnog ulaganja. Rad prikazuje i analizira koncept socijalnih investicija, njegov razvoj i ukorijenjenost u europskom prostoru. Prikazuju se odrednice socijalnog ulaganja i kako se koncept pojavljuje u europskim strateškim dokumentima te se osvrće na kritike koncepta. Socijalno ulaganje je nov koncept koji u svojoj suštini implicira dvostruki povrat ulaganja: financijski povrat investiranog kapitala i ostvarenje pozitivnog socijalnog povrata. On je fokusiran na budućnost; na podršku djeci i obitelji, radnu aktivaciju i borbu s novim socijalnih rizicima u cijelom životnom ciklusu. Analizira se, koristeći podatke koji prikazuju dugoročne promjene u strukturi socijalnih troškova europskih zemalja, koliko je koncept »zaživio« u europskom prostoru. Analiza pokazuje da se za sada ne može govoriti o zaokretu europskih socijalnih država prema socijalnom ulaganju. Izuzetak su skandinavske zemlje gdje je koncept socijalnih investicija već u velikoj mjeri zaživio kako pokazuju podaci. Koncept socijalnog ulaganja za sada ostaje više određena normativna platforma politika za balansiranje ekonomske i socijalne logike socijalne države u novim uvjetima. Međutim, očito je da koncept socijalnog ulaganja postaje dijelom socijalnih politika i ostaje vidjeti kako će se razvijati u budućnosti kao pokušaj novog promišljanja i načina djelovanja socijalne države.

The welfare state takes a stand against the demands of modernization by seeking to care for society's most vulnerable groups. People with disabilities are in a particularly vulnerable position, facing numerous obstacles to the labor market. Social enterprises, especially work integration social enterprises (WISE), can provide an important access point for their integration. The present analysis of five post-socialist countries in the European Union – Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Croatia – identifies several general characteristics essential for WISE development, such as the existence of some form of financing as well as certain legislative and institutional frameworks that remain underdeveloped. Lack of awareness and promotion of WISEs as well as a shortage of necessary skills have delayed WISE development in these countries, particularly in Croatia, where WISEs are few with small numbers of employees. This study provides recommendations for improving the situation of WISEs in Croatia in order to help them facilitate the employment and social inclusion of people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.