Description:
This report looks at public spending on
pensions, education, health, social assistance, labor market
programs, and public wages. Presenting the findings of a
series of studies and notes compiled sice April 2009, it
highlights how reforming such spending, which comprises
about one quarter of gross domestic product (GDP), is
essential for mitigating the impact of the economic crisis
and for transforming Poland from a welfare state to a
workfare society in line with Government's Vision 2030.
The report has two main messages. First, Poland can take
measures to reduce public expenditures on social sectors and
public wages by around 2.3 percentage points over the next
three years. Second, beyond supporting the fiscal adjustment
required in the context of the economic crisis, public
expenditure reforms can also help bring about structural
changes envisioned as part of the Government's strategy
for 2030. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of
Poland's social sector and public wage polices and lays
out options for reform. The summary report has five parts.
The first part lays out the macroeconomic context. It
emphasizes that Poland has weathered the global economic
crisis remarkably well but that the recovery is likely to be
feeble and subject to uncertainty. The next part discusses
the fiscal fallout of the crisis and argues that public
expenditure reform should be a crucial pillar for fiscal
consolidation. Sections three to five contain the main
findings of the report. Section three presents a list of
important reforms of public expenditures on social sectors
and wages in support of Vision 2030. Section four simulates
the fiscal impact of public expenditure reforms, with a
particular focus on state budget expenditures. The final
section discusses how institutional reforms in the areas of
medium-term and performance-based budget can support the
reform agenda. Volume two presents the detailed analyses of
social sectors and institutional reforms of public finance.