Suchergebnisse

Bangladesh boasts a wide array of targeted food assistance programs that strive to achieve a number of important developmental objectives. Findings from the 2000 Household Income and Expenditure Survey suggest that these programs are reasonably well-targeted towards the poor. Most of the pro-poor targeting is due to targeting the poor within communities rather than central actions to target poor areas. However, any definitive conclusions about the 'pro-poor' nature of spending on these programs are clouded by the survey findings which suggest that a large share of the total resources devoted to these programs disappear before reaching their intended beneficiaries. If these 'unaccounted-for' benefits are in fact appropriated by the non-poor, the incidence of spending on these programs would likely be pro-rich. Greater efforts to channel a higher share of resources to regions with greater need of assistance and to improve monitoring systems to reduce leakage from the system are likely to yield high dividends.

Analysis of data from various Bangladesh Household Expenditure Surveys suggests considerable progress at poverty reduction during the 1990s. About 50 percent of the country's population lived below the poverty line in 2000 compared to 59 percent in 1991–2. Poverty in rural areas continues to be higher than in urban areas, but the gap between rural and urban areas has narrowed as rural growth has been relatively more propoor. While the survey data and National Accounts show similar amounts of progress in Bangladesh over the decade as a whole, they present conflicting pictures of the pattern of growth over the decade: the National Accounts series indicate progress to have taken place at roughly equal rates over the first and second halves of the 1990s, while the HES series show most of the progress at poverty reduction to have taken place during the first half of the decade.

Indias states have significant developmental expenditure responsibilities. While the fiscal crisis which engulfed Indias states in the late nineties led to higher deficits and debt levels, it was also associated with a rapid increase in expenditure levels, and it might be thought that this would have increased the development effectiveness of the state governments. However, a closer look at the data reveals that this is not the case. The main positive fiscal development in the post 1996/97 period is a pick up in real growth in government capital expenditure. In other respects, the fiscal crisis weakened the developmental and poverty impact of state governments especially in the poor states. Real growth of expenditure in health and education slowed, in some cases halted, and the efficiency of government expenditure fell as liquidity constraints tightened and non-salary expenditures were crowded out.

Indias states have significant developmental expenditure responsibilities. While the fiscal crisis which engulfed Indias states in the late nineties led to higher deficits and debt levels, it was also associated with a rapid increase in expenditure levels, and it might be thought that this would have increased the development effectiveness of the state governments. However, a closer look at the data reveals that this is not the case. The main positive fiscal development in the post 1996/97 period is a pick up in real growth in government capital expenditure. In other respects, the fiscal crisis weakened the developmental and poverty impact of state governments especially in the poor states. Real growth of expenditure in health and education slowed, in some cases halted, and the efficiency of government expenditure fell as liquidity constraints tightened and non-salary expenditures were crowded out.