WEB engleska verzija end.indd - UNDP Croatia

CHAPTER 4KEY CHALLENGESMinistry of Finance indicates that the central governmentsocial expenditures rose from 40.5 billion HRK in2000 to almost 50 billion HRK in 2004. In the contextof economic growth, however, social expenditures asa proportion of GDP fell from 26.6% in 2000 to 23.4%in 2004 (Figure 19). These figures are not strictly comparableto EU figures. In addition, they do not includeveterans’ benefits (around 1.6% of GDP) or local andregional government expenditures (around 0.5% ofGDP). Nevertheless, the figures, largely a product ofreductions in health and pensions expenditures as ashare of GDP, provide important counter-evidence tothe notion of high and increasing social expenditures.Overall, a hard and fast division between ‘the economic’and ‘the social’ and, indeed, the ‘environmental’ is counter-productive.Instead, an integrated approach to socialpolicy as investment in human and social capital needsto be developed. In addition, a cautionary principleneeds to be adopted in which safeguards ensure thatpolicies do no harm and are likely to improve the positionof excluded groups and individuals. Finally, ‘smart’social policy needs to be based on an inclusive dialogueand not remain the preserve of politicians, professionals,policy makers or existing institutions. Changingperceptions of ‘the social’ is at the heart of any serious,long-term, perspective on challenging social exclusion.Figure 18: Social Expenditure (as % of GDP)30.025.020.00.52.10.42.0 0.51.8 0.62.70.62.615.016.516.9 16.0 13.9 13.610.05.00.07.5 7.2 6.7 6.4 6.62000 2001 2002 2003 2004HealthSocial securityWelfareOtherSource: Croatian Ministry of Finance; Notes: According to GFS 1986 classification144