Suchergebnisse

One of the most significant developments in the 1990s in
social policy in developing and transition countries has been the
growth of privatization in health, education and water services – three
basic services, which involve most of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). Welfare pluralism was very much a core element of the
Washington Consensus. Despite the talk of the Washington Consensus
being 'dead for years', the international financial institutions have
pushed for welfare pluralism in social services since the 1990s. This
article critically scrutinizes the arguments and evidence that have been
made in favour of greater private sector participation in these services.
The article addresses what role the private sector could or should play
in these services and is, thus, driven by practical policy concerns. For
reasons of space, this article does not address the non-profit or nongovernmental
organization (NGO) provision of basic social services
(which, in most countries, is quite small in size).

AbstractIt is often said that economic growth promotes poverty reduction, social development and child welfare, but it is rarely argued that this conditional relationship applies in reverse. Direct action to improve child health and education may be as strong as economic growth in reducing income‐poverty. Without specific policies to ensure access to basic social services (BSS) like basic health, primary education access to safe water—services which directly improve children's lives—economic growth seldom improves the quality of life of the whole population. Thus, it becomes crucial to measure and monitor the allocation of public spending to BSS. In this paper, based on research carried out by UNDP and UNICEF in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, we summarise some findings of these studies. The figures vary among countries and through time, but public expenditure on BSS is, on average, between 12 and 14 per cent of government spending. Such low fiscal priority to these services partly accounts for the poor health and education outcomes. In many low‐income, highly indebted countries, the low level of spending is explained by the lack of fiscal space. Hence the need for debt cancellation at a faster pace than achieved through the HIPC Initiative so far. Data on the use of education and health services by different groups show inequities in the distribution of public spending. This inequity negatively affects overall outcomes.We also look at the allocation of foreign assistance to BSS. ODA has been declining, as a proportion of the output of industrialised countries, since the early 1980s. Within this shrinking total, no DAC country's combined allocation for BSS exceeded 16.5 per cent of ODA. Hence also the need for rapid increases in ODA for basic services. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AbstractIn 1990, a target of universal access to basic education by the year 2000 was set by two global conferences. Ten years later, however, it was clear that the target had not been met. Too many countries had made insufficient progress, and although many of the reasons for this inadequate progress were country‐specific, one factor stood out in virtually all countries: inadequate public finance for primary education. In 2000, the Millennium Summit set a new target date for achieving 'education for all' of 2015. This article updates the global and regional cost estimates for reaching that target. The estimates are based on the most recent country‐by‐country data on budgetary expenditure, population and enrolment trends, and unit cost. The annual additional cost of achieving 'education for all' in developing countries by 2015 is estimated at US$ 9.1 billion. Although this is affordable at the global level, individual countries will need considerably more resources than are currently available. However, official development assistance (ODA) has been declining, and the share of ODA allocated to basic education has changed little over the past decade. Therefore, although affordable, the target of universal basic education by 2015 is likely to be missed, just as it was in 2000, without a major change both in ODA and national budgets.

This paper examines the ways in which taxation, social and labour (T S & L) policies in Argentina and Chile have been shaped by state-business relations and capital-labour relations in a context where business organizations/associations have different degrees of cohesiveness through time. At the heart of the theoretical framework is the view that social democratic/egalitarian/progressive policy proposals must incorporate the role of unequal power relations in the shaping of such policies. The authors suggest that the implementation and maintenance over time of such policies by the state is a contested process that mediates between business pressures for pro-business policies and the larger society´s demands for social justice. This suggests the need for what they call a political and policy mix (PPM) that could maintain business confidence in the presence of strong unions and a strong welfare state - at least for a while. Yet the authors suggest that designing a well-functioning PPM is hardly an easy task, given the contested and turbulent terrain in which the state operates. Finally, they argue following Schumpeter, Kaldor, and others that there is a need for a fiscal sociology of taxation in order to understand historically determined economic, social, political, and institutional factors that shape the level and composition of taxation which is central to financing of social democratic policies.

This examination of how basic social services, particularly education, health and water, can be financed and delivered more effectively departs from the dominant macro-economic paradigm. Drawing on their own broad-ranging research at UNICEF and UNDP, the authors argue that fiscal, monetary, and other macro-economic policies for poverty reduction, human development and economic growth can be compatible with micro-level interventions to provide basic social services. Policymakers have more flexibility than is usually assumed to engage in macro-economic and growth-oriented policies that can also expand human capabilities and fulfill human rights. More than just more aid is needed. Strategic shifts in aid policy, decentralized governance, health and education and the private-public mix in service provision are a prerequisite to achieve the goals of human development and to eliminate human poverty within a generation

"Worldwide child and youth poverty remain the biggest barrier to achieving a better life in adulthood. Progress in lifting children out of poverty in the last decades has been slow and limited in the developing world, while the recent global economic crisis has exacerbated child poverty, youth unemployment, and social exclusion in many developed countries. This book critically examines the long-term consequences of growing up poor, the close linkages between deprivation and human rights violations in childhood and adolescence, and their effects on labor market entry and future career in a number of developing and developed countries. Drawing on multiple disciplinary perspectives, it makes a forceful case for the eradication of child poverty to take center stage in the Sustainable Development Goals." --