Public sector efficiency according to COFOG classification in the European Union

The budgetary constraints governments have to deal with on a daily bases require a new approach in public spending as well as the revision of public goods definition. Consequently the key words are efficiency and effectiveness, in order to comply with the new management approach requirements. Assessing the efficiency and performance of public expenses is a key item for analyzing the quality of public expenses because it connects the entries as public resources and their yield (efficiency) or the entries to the results obtained (performance)public spending, performance, efficiency, effectiveness

Issues and Challenges of Measurement of Health:Implications for Economic Research

According to the human capital theory, health is a determinant of the economic development and should play a role in the fight against poverty. On the other side, the economic growth, by supplying better sanitation, water quality and hygiene, better education and income, may improve population’s health. Economists, in investigating the relations between development and health, asked for valid and relevant health status measurement. But, on the other hand, the health concept is complex as health includes several dimensions, and researchers face a battery of health indicators. The purpose of this study is to discuss, specifically for economic research, the particularity of each health indicator, the potential bias of their measurement, their advantages, disadvantages, and interest. As health indicators are too numerous, a selection was done and the analysis concerns the most frequent indicators, but also those which should be more used into the economic research perspective. Discussed health indicators are life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth, mortality rates (maternal and infant mortality included), cause-specific morbidity rates, Dalys and Qalys.

Inequality, Well-being and Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper focuses on the role of “institutions” in the fight against poverty and inequality. Our view of institutions encompasses formal rules designed by polity (including those in the legal and economics sphere such as rules of property rights, contracts and liabilities) as well as informal rules (usually labelled social capital) that have emerged over the history of one’s civilisation. The inclusion of health, nutrition, and literacy indicators in defining well-being (or, non-income poverty à la capability approach of Amartya Sen) allows a rich discussion of policy interventions. While both orientations as to the concepts of poverty, inequality and institutions are expounded on a priori reasoning, empirical analysis with LAC data prove rewarding. Quality of institutions (measured by a composite variable called institutional capital, IC) turns out to be a key factor explaining well-being. Further where the level of income is also important to the explanation, the quantitative role of the institutional factor dominates that of the income variable. Within IC, political stability (or lack of violence) appeared to provide the more precise estimates in every case. Consequently we argue that the foremost policy interventions ought to be in the areas of building both adequate formal institutions, as well as creating an enabling environment for the informal institutions (such as social capital) to flourish and find their own roots. The principal focus of the policy debate must centre on the mutual interaction of market as well as non-market institutions in reducing poverty broadly speaking

Performance evaluation of the Visegrad Group countries

The objective of economic success is not only to achieve positive developments in economic indicators, but to ensure a high living standard and quality of life for the population. It is therefore necessary to measure economic success in terms of social and socio-economic indicators, which indicate the quality of life of the population. A relevant indicator of economic development and economic performance is the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Although this indicator is the most widely used, it has recently been subject to a wave of criticism. Therefore it is necessary to evaluate the economic success, taking into account other variables, which in themselves imply social indicators: net economic welfare, Human Development Index (HDI), Index of Competitiveness, Index of Economic Freedom (IEF), Prosperity Index, Corruption Perception Index and others. The subject of this article is to evaluate the economic performance of the Visegrad Group countries using GDP per capita and selected socioeconomic indicators. We use the method of time series analysis to examine the development of selected indicators. To compare their development we use the method of comparison, and to formulate the findings we use the method of synthesis. In order to evaluate the performance of the Visegrad countries we use scoring method

Health investments and economic growth : macroeconomic evidence and microeconomic foundations

This paper reviews the correlations and potential links between health and economic growth and summarizes the evidence on the role of government in improving health status. At the macroeconomic level, the evidence of an impact of health on growth remains ambiguous due both to difficulties in measuring health, and to the methodological challenges of identifying causal links. The evidence on the micro linkages from health investments to productivity and income are robust. Progress in life expectancy over the past two centuries has been spectacular, fueled by: improved agriculture that has increased food quantity; knowledge of disease transmission, and effective public health interventions that have controlled communicable diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, and hookworm; and, most recently and importantly, investments in very young children that pay off in healthier and more productive adults. Whether public investments in medical care affect health hinges on the quality of health institutions. In much of the developing world, factors such as chronic absenteeism among public providers, poor budget execution, ineffective management, and virtually no accountability weaken public efforts. Institutional issues are central in efforts to enhance public health investments, which in turn have a direct impact on the population's welfare and, perhaps over the long term, improvements in national income.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Health Systems Development&Reform,Population Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Disease Control&Prevention

Issues and Challenges of Measurement of Health:Implications for Economic Research

According to the human capital theory, health is a determinant of the economic development and should play a role in the fight against poverty. On the other side, the economic growth, by supplying better sanitation, water quality and hygiene, better education and income, may improve population's health. Economists, in investigating the relations between development and health, asked for valid and relevant health status measurement. But, on the other hand, the health concept is complex as health includes several dimensions, and researchers face a battery of health indicators. The purpose of this study is to discuss, specifically for economic research, the particularity of each health indicator, the potential bias of their measurement, their advantages, disadvantages, and interest. As health indicators are too numerous, a selection was done and the analysis concerns the most frequent indicators, but also those which should be more used into the economic research perspective. Discussed health indicators are life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth, mortality rates (maternal and infant mortality included), cause-specific morbidity rates, Dalys and Qalys.cerdi

Evaluation of Health Services

As the costs and resources of delivering health services have increased over the years, the importance of evaluating health services and interventions has become essential. An evaluation provides a systematic process of assessing the efficacy and efficiency of health services, including an assessment of their impact on beneficiaries, whether it be individuals or communities. Evaluation in the health sector includes the evaluation of burden disease where human and economic costs resulting from poor health are measured.In this book, various evaluation studies are detailed, providing an excellent resource for both evaluation practitioners and academics alike. The geographical range and variety of case studies showcase how evaluation has become integral for health service planning and assessment and to assist public health policy makers decide how to use limited resources to minimize burden and inequity. This book will act as a ready resource for both workers experienced in health service evaluation and those intending to learn about burden of disease of evaluation

Balancing Between Efficiency and Equity in Publicly Funded Health Systems

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical overview of efficiency and equity and give insights in the Croatian health system. Using selected indicators, a basic descriptive review of efficiency and equity in the Croatian health system was made, with an added comparison to other countries of the European Union. Observed at the macro level, Croatia shows relatively good efficiency of its health system, even above the average of the comparable countries by health expenditure per capita, but still significantly below the most developed EU countries. Still, Croatia requires further reforms that would enhance the efficiency of its health system (especially at the hospital level), without sacrificing equity which is a fundamental right of all citizens in need of health care. Although in total only small proportion of the population perceived an unmet need for health care, Croatia reported much larger inequalities in unmet need among different socio-economic groups, between high and low educated population, between women and men and among different age groups

Assessing the efficiency of countries in making progress towards universal health coverage: a data envelopment analysis of 172 countries.

INTRODUCTION: Maximising efficiency of resources is critical to progressing towards universal health coverage (UHC) and the sustainable development goal (SDG) for health. This study estimates the technical efficiency of national health spending in progressing towards UHC, and the environmental factors associated with efficient UHC service provision. METHODS: A two-stage efficiency analysis using Simar and Wilson's double bootstrap data envelopment analysis investigates how efficiently countries convert health spending into UHC outputs (measured by service coverage and financial risk protection) for 172 countries. We use World Bank and WHO data from 2015. Thereafter, the environmental factors associated with efficient progress towards UHC goals are identified. RESULTS: The mean bias-corrected technical efficiency score across 172 countries is 85.7% (68.9% for low-income and 95.5% for high-income countries). High-achieving middle-income and low-income countries such as El Salvador, Colombia, Rwanda and Malawi demonstrate that peer-relative efficiency can be attained at all incomes. Governance capacity, income and education are significantly associated with efficiency. Sensitivity analysis suggests that results are robust to changes. CONCLUSION: We provide a 2015 baseline for cross-country UHC technical efficiency scores. If countries wish to improve their UHC outputs within existing budgets, they should identify their current efficiency and try to emulate more efficient peers. Policy-makers should focus on strengthening institutions and implementing known best practices to replicate efficient systems. Using resources more efficiently is likely to positively impact UHC coverage goals and health outcomes, and without addressing gaps in efficiency progress towards achieving the SDGs will be impeded

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-EFFICIENCY AND DEPRESSION AMONG EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES STUDENTS AT AL-ALBAYT UNIVERSITY

The aim of this study is to find out the relationship between selfefficiency and depression among educational sciences students at Al-albayt University, in the light of two variables: academic level and sex. The study was conducted on a sample of 193 students. Data was collected using general self-efficiency scale and Back depression checklist. ANOVA and correlation coefficient were used to find out the relationship between study variables. Results showed a high level of self-efficiency among subjects, as well as a negative relationship between self-efficiency and depression. However, results also showed that there is no statistically significant difference in the respondent’s responses due to their academic level or sex