Succint Analysis of the Social Expenses in Roman

• Author: Luminita Maria Craciun
• Position: Insurance Manager, ASIROM-Vienna Insurance Group, Galati, Romania
• Pages: 615-624

Succint analysis of the social expenses in Romania

Economist Phd., ASE Bucuresti, LUMINITA MARIA CRACIUN

Insurance Manager, ASIROM-Vienna Insurance Group, Galati, Romania,

Mobile Phone 0723.68.73.68; e-mail: craciun.maria@gmail.com

The satisfaction of social needs, aiming the improvement of life conditions for each person in a given society, defines an

aspect of the importance of public expenses.1

The amount o f public expenses allocated for socio-cultural actions has an essential economic and social rôle and and

has effect on the education, the professional training and qualification, the cultural, artistic and civilisation level, the quality of

medical assistance and infant mortality, the system of social protection. Transition is a crisis process, implying the demolition of

an order and the instauration of another. Th e results of the processes of economic transition may have sometimes dramatic

economic, social and human consequences. The prolongation of transition and its high social costs have effects on many social

categories and generate a climate of uncertainty and social non-engagement. Romania faced one of the longest process of

transition from all ex-communist countries of Central Europe. This prolonged and sometimes regressive transition represents one

of major handicaps for Romania in the attempt for emancipation and integration in the system of Occidental democracy.

Key words: transition, health, education, social security, social assistance

The European economies in transition2 were effectively and aggressively restructured: decrease of

GDP, increase of revenue per capita and institutional and administrative capacity. The strategic options for

the social protection are based on: the policy of labour market, the systems of pensions and unimployment

insurance, the fight against pauperism, the social policy regarding the deinstitutionalization and

development of social assistance services at the community level. The reform of pension systems is now

in progress involving the preparation and introduction of multi-pillar systems. The social assistance is

testing the means of substistance. In countries successful in pursuing reforms, the economy and the real

salaries increased and the unemployment decreased, but is still a problem too.

During the period of transition, in Romania the negative social effects of a difficult restructuration

were insufficient counterbalanced by a subfinanced social protection system. The percentage of GDP

allocated for the public social expenses points at 18-19% (17.2%-2000, 18.4%-2003, estimated 19.4-2004,

19.4%-2005) compared to 27.6%, representing the average for the UE in 2001. All the sectors of the social

protection: health, education, social assistance and inhabitancy registered a low level of public social

expenses.3

Table no. 1

Public expenses for social programmes (% of GDP)

Year Country 1989 1992 1994 1997 1999 2000 2001

Romania 14.2 16.5 15.5 15.9 18.4 17.2 18.2

UE 25.4 27.7 28.4 28 27.6 - -

Bulgaria 20.3 27 21 17 21.2 - -

Hungary 22.5 31.9 32,3 23.8 23.5 - -

Poland 20.2 - - 29.4* 25.9 - -

Czech Republic 21.5 22.9 25.5 25 24.8** - -

Republic of Moldavia - - - 22 11.8 11.8 10.8

Source: Week&al. -„Politics for economic growth, employment creation and poverty”, PNUD,

2005, pag.113;

*The information for Poland are available for 1996;

** The information for Czech Republic are available for 1998.

Eventually, GDP4, an economic component of the human development, represents the level of

subsistance and it is the most powerful predictor of the health status of nation. The sources of financing

for the health care are: the state and local budgets (for investment, endowement, large-scale programmes),

state or private health insurances (for a a part of manual work, materials and drugs), population. All these

represent only a part of GDP health financing sources per capita. For poor countries is difficult to attain

the level health financing of the rich countries. Moreover, a reduced GDP leads to a smaller deducted

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