Social Policy Poverty And Inequality In Central And Eastern Europe And The Former Soviet Union

This book takes stock of the diverse and divergent welfare trajectories of postsocialist countries across central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Authors from different disciplines address key aspects of social protection including health care, poverty reduction measures, labor market policies, pension systems, and child welfare.

" ... A most interesting report. I have read it with considerable interest, and have learned a lot. It tells a clear story, and it contains a lot of interesting material."--Anthony Atkinson, Professor Nuffield CollegeOxford University, United Kingdom "The key conclusion of the report is that rapid economic growth is fundamentally important for job creation and, consequently, reducing poverty."--Ewa Balcerowicz, President of the BoardCenter for Social and Economic Research, Warsaw, Poland While the countries of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union have made significant progress in reducing poverty in the past five years, poverty and vulnerability remain significant problems. More than 60 million are poor and more than 150 million are vulnerable. Most of the poor are the working poor. Many others face deprivations in terms of access and quality of public services. Regional inequalities both between and within countries are large. The highest levels of absolute poverty are found in the poor countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, but most of the region's poor and vulnerable are in middle- income countries. Growth, Poverty, and Inequality examines these important issues and recommends that public policies focus on: accelerating shared growth and job creation; improving public service delivery; strengthening social protection; and enhancing the monitoring of progress in poverty reduction. This book will be informative for policy makers and social scientists working in the Region.

This interdisciplinary study offers a comprehensive analysis of the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Providing full historical context and drawing on a wide range of literature, this book explores the continuous economic and social transformation of the post-socialist world. While the future is yet to be determined, understanding the present phase of transformation is critical. The book’s core exploration evolves along three pivots of competitive economic structure, institutional change, and social welfare. The main elements include analysis of the emergence of the socialist economic model; its adaptations through the twentieth century; discussion of the 1990s market transition reforms; post-2008 crisis development; and the social and economic diversity in the region today. With an appreciation for country specifics, the book also considers the urgent problems of social policy, poverty, income inequality, and labor migration. Transition Economies will aid students, researchers and policy makers working on the problems of comparative economics, economic development, economic history, economic systems transition, international political economy, as well as specialists in post-Soviet and Central and Eastern European regional studies.

World Bank Technical Paper No. 394. Joint Forest Management (JFM) has emerged as an important intervention in the management of Indias forest resources. This report sets out an analytical method for examining the costs and benefits of JFM arrangements. Two pilot case studies in which the method was used demonstrate interesting outcomes regarding incentives for various groups to participate. The main objective of this study is to develop a better understanding of the incentives for communities to participate in JFM.

The aim of this book is to provide the reader with the broad spectrum of poverty and social policy issues in Central and Eastern Europe, and address the most urgent topics of welfare state research, namely poverty, children and social policy; gender, social policy and poverty; urban policy, renewal and poverty, and overall challenges to social policy reform. The book demonstrates that despite an increase in poverty and inequalities in many Central and Eastern European countries during the last 18 years, the social policy systems have not experienced a radical dismantlement throughout the entire region. The post-Communist welfare state still shows more comprehensive solutions to social problems than residual ones. Nevertheless, the deteriorated fiscal capacities of the state in some cases hinder the successful poverty solutions as well as the expansion of the welfare programmes. Yet, the Central and Eastern European region is very diverse regarding the scope and depth of social problems encountered and some countries have implemented more successful policy solutions than other ones. Furthermore, the findings of this volume demonstrate that Central and Eastern European countries are not so dramatically distinct from Western Europe, neither in their social problems encountered, nor in their solutions. Nevertheless, the experience of the socialist regime, the relatively lower wages and lower social benefits as well as the higher share of GDP produced in a shadow economy allow the CEE countries to group into the distinct post-Communist regime.

Poverty is not a neutral phenomenon, nor are social inclusion programmes neutrally conceived, designed and implemented.Their ultimate nature is built upon ideas, values, actors, politics and economic constraints.This topical book is one of the first to examine the social and political construction of anti-poverty programmes in Central Eastern Europe and their transformation from communist rule to the current economic crisis. It covers the approach towards the ‘parasite’ poor through to Guaranteed Minimum Income Schemes and illustrates how the distinction between different categories of ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor has evolved over the years as the result of changing paradigms, combined with the pressure exerted by domestic and international actors, the European Union and the World Bank among others. This text breaks new ground for social policy students and scholars interested in understanding how differently post-communist welfare states have represented, legitimised and dealt with poverty, need and social justice in accordance with divergent normative frameworks constructed at national level.

November 1995 What happens to poverty and income inequality during the early period of transition to a market economy? Poverty is on the rise, and income inequality widens. Better targeting of social assistance and pension reform are the necessary policy reforms. In examining what happens to poverty and income inequality during the early period of transition to a market economy, Milanovic covers the period up to 1993. His analysis includes almost all transition economies that were not affected by wars, blockades, or embargoes. (In economies so affected, the intrinsic issues of transition are overshadowed by more basic issues of war or quasi-war economy and survival.) The two key issues of social policy in transition economies are pension reform and better targeting of social assistance. Pensions represent 70 to 80 percent of cash social expenditures. No reduction of current levels of social spending (which is unsustainable) can be envisaged without pension reform. Better targeting of social assistance is needed because many universally or enterprise-provided benefits have been terminated, poverty has increased, and social programs lack funding. If poverty is on the rise and money is scarce, better targeting is the only option. This paper -- a product of the Transition Economics Division, Policy Research Department -- is part of a larger effort in the department to study social effects of transition.