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IS THE 500+ CHILD BENEFIT PROGRAMME OVERGENEROUS? POLISH SOCIAL PROTECTION EXPENDITURE ON BENEFITS AND SERVICES FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN COMPARED WITH OTHER MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EU AND OECD

100%

Hagemejer K.

Polityka Społeczna

2017

vol. 44

issue 1(13) CHILD BENEFIT PROGRAMME 500+ OUTCOMES AND OUTPUTS

1–7

The recent introduction of cash family benefit programme “500+” ignited debate on the desired levels of expenditure on family benefits and of overall social protection expenditure in Poland. The objective of the paper is to inform this debate through comparing levels of family benefit expenditure in Poland with the levels in other European Union and OECD countries. Analysis of the available data shows that Polish overall gross social protection expenditure – measured as its ratio to GDP – is significantly lower than the EU average and, after 2000, has been declining slightly (while EU average of this ratio has tended to increase). Expenditure on oldage, survivors’, and disability pensions is (as a percentage of GDP) not much lower than the EU average (although, after taking into account the impact of direct taxation, the difference between expenditure levels in Poland compared to other countries becomes much greater). At the same time, expenditure on health, unemployment, and family benefits has over the last 15 years been at significantly lower levels than levels prevailing in a majority of EU countries. Until 2015, family benefit expenditure in Poland was – as a percentage of GDP – significantly lower than the EU average. Expenditure on cash benefits in 2012 was 0.7%, which was a decline from 1% of GDP in 2000 and much less than the EU average of 1.6%. Since 2013, cash family benefit expenditure has been increasing faster than GDP, surpassing 0,8% of GDP in 2015. The introduction of 500+ more than doubled the expenditure to GDP ratio so that in 2016 it was 1.85% of GDP and one can estimate that in 2017, expenditure on all types of cash family benefits will surpass 2% of GDP. As expenditure on non-cash aspects of family benefits (benefits in kind like kindergartens and tax breaks for children) are not much lower in Poland than the EU average, programme 500+ raises overall social protection expenditure on family and children to about 3% of GDP which is slightly over the EU average but still lower than several higher spending countries in this area – UK, Scandinavian countries, France or Belgium for example. One has to bear in mind that imitations of data quality and availability and differences between countries both in terms of policy instruments used by social protection systems and differences of the extent to which various social benefits are affected by direct and indirect taxation, require caution when drawing conclusions from above comparison of expenditure levels.

WYDATKI SOCJALNE W POLSCE NA TLE UE

63%

Żukowski M.

Polityka Społeczna

2017

vol. 44

issue 8(521)

10–17

Taking social protection expenditure as a percentage of GDP as an indicator, Poland is one of the least „social” EU member states – in 2014 at the level of 2/3 of the EU average. Due to a higher economic growth in Poland during the crisis, the distance between Poland and EU average became even larger during this period. However, taking the level of development into account, Poland is as “social” as many more developed countries. It is the lower GDP per capita which explains the lower real level of social benefits in Poland. Poland has high expenditure on pensions, which indicates a strong orientation of social expenditure towards the oldest part of the society. On the other hand, Poland’s health care expenditure is among the lowest in the EU. Expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP dropped below the EU average, mainly due to decreasing numbers of pupils and students. Both in terms of reducing risk of poverty or social exclusion, as well as decreasing income inequalities, Poland experienced between 2005 and 2015 the biggest progress in the EU. From this perspective, effectiveness and efficiency of social expenditure in Poland durng this period were high.

Według wydatków na zabezpieczenie społeczne w relacji do PKB Polska jest jednym z najmniej „socjalnych” państw UE – w roku 2014 wydatki te stanowiły 2/3 średniej unijnej. Ze względu na szybszy wzrost gospodarczy w Polsce, w okresie kryzysu, dystans między Polską a średnią unijną w omawianym okresie jeszcze się zwiększył. Jednak w stosunku do poziomu rozwoju, Polska jest podobnie „socjalna” jak wiele zamożniejszych państw. Niższy realny poziom świadczeń socjalnych w Polsce wynika przede wszystkim właśnie z niższego PKB. Polska ma bardzo wysokie wydatki na emerytury i renty, co wskazuje na silną orientację wydatków socjalnych na najstarszą część społeczeństwa. Natomiast wydatki na opiekę zdrowotną należą do najniższych w UE. Wydatki na edukację w relacji do PKB spadły do poziomu nieco poniżej średniej unijnej, głównie w związku ze zmniejszaniem się liczby uczniów i studentów. Zarówno pod względem zmniejszania skali zagrożenia ubóstwem lub wykluczeniem społecznym, jak i zmniejszania nierówności dochodowych, Polska zanotowała w latach 2005–2015 największy postęp w całej UE. Z tego punktu widzenia skuteczność i efektywność wydatków socjalnych w Polsce w omawianym okresie była wysoka.

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2 Polityka Społeczna

2 2017

1 Hagemejer K.

1 Żukowski M.

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IS THE 500+ CHILD BENEFIT PROGRAMME OVERGENEROUS? POLISH SOCIAL PROTECTION EXPENDITURE ON BENEFITS AND SERVICES FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN COMPARED WITH OTHER MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EU AND OECD

WYDATKI SOCJALNE W POLSCE NA TLE UE