The aim of the paper is to analyse the indicators of the healthcare system efficiency in Croatia and to assess its effectiveness based on a comparison with other EU countries. The analysis of the ...efficiency of the healthcare system in Croatia and 21 selected EU countries in the period from 2013 to 2018 was conducted by the application of the dynamic DEA window analysis (WDEA). According to the results of the analysis, the overall efficiency of expenditure on healthcare in relation to average life expectancy is on the lowest level in Croatia, amounting to 57% in 2018. While cost-effectiveness of the Croatian healthcare system is on the maximum level of 100%, systemic effectiveness amounts to only 48%. According to the aforementioned indicator, Croatia has recorded the lowest efficiency in relation to the selected EU countries, the efficiency of which amounted to 88% in 2018. Therefore, inefficiencies of the healthcare system are generated during the transformation of intermediary inputs into treatment outcomes, which means that Croatia could achieve the same health outcomes with a lesser engagement of intermediary resources. According to the results of the panel analysis, smoking and alcohol consumption are the key determinants of the efficiency of healthcare protection in EU countries. Croatia does not invest enough into health promotion measures and prevention of diseases, for which it spends only 3% of the overall expenditure on healthcare. Strengthening of public healthcare policies against smoking and alcohol consumption and the increase of excise duties on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages could indirectly influence the improvement of health outcomes, while maintaining the existing levels of expenditure on healthcare. Key words: healthcare system efficiency, financial sustainability of healthcare system, DEA method.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of discretionary measures of fiscal policy on the economic activity and to estimate the size of fiscal multipliers in Croatia. Econometric framework is ...based on the structural VAR model (SVAR), with Blanchard-Perotti identification method that uses information on institutional characteristics of fiscal system. The analysis is conducted on quarterly data for total expenditures and indirect taxes of central, central consolidated and general consolidated government and aggregate demand for the period from 2004-2012. The results show that our initial assumptions about the difference in the size of the multiplier of government expenditures and indirect tax revenues between three levels of government consolidation have been confirmed. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to identify the determinants of the effective tax burden of companies in the activity division Telecommunication in the Republic of Croatia. The research covers the time ...interval from 2008 to 2017. Dynamic panel analysis was used to conduct the research. Microeconomic data were obtained from the databases of the Financial Agency, and macroeconomic data from the Central Bureau of Statistics. The results indicate that the effective tax burden of companies in the activity division Telecommunication is affected by the effective tax burden from the previous period, company size, leverage, inventory intensity, profitability and economic cycle. While capital and labour intensity didn`t prove statistically significant. The main limitations of the research lie in the impossibility of generalizing the stated results to all companies from the observed activity, using only one evaluation model, and being a cabinet-type research, without confirmation of the results obtained by companies. The research received several scientific contributions: this is the first study of the determinants of the effective tax burden conducted in the Republic of Croatia; the research covers an entire activity whit different companies sizes, and not as in most previous research, which mainly include only large companies listed on the stock exchange; unlike previous studies that used a balanced sample, and in most cases static panel models, this study used an unbalanced sample and a dynamic panel model.
In order to shape tax reform it is necessary objectively to assess the current state-of-the-art of and of the outlook for the tax system. After having reviewed all previous reforms in the light of ...the consumption-based (interest-adjusted) concept of direct taxation, which was almost systematically implemented in Croatia in 1994, we present the results of a broad expert opinion survey about the Croatian tax system. The most interesting results suggest the maintenance/(re)introduction of different tax incentives and reduced VAT rates, rejection of a flat tax as well as decrease of tax brackets, an increase in alcohol and tobacco duties, the introduction of a financial activities tax, a further shift from income to consumption, a decrease of the tax share in GDP and a belief in the behavioral responsiveness of tax decreases/exemptions, as well as a firm commitment to the principle of equity. The last three economic views/values are important predictors of other tax attitudes.
This paper analyses the impact of public debt level and its (un)sustainability on fiscal policy in Croatia in the 2001–2015 period. A switching regression approach is used to distinguish different ...regimes when government spending, i.e. fiscal policy has more or less impact on economic growth during different cycles. In the second part, the structural VAR model is used to analyse the dynamic effects of government spending on domestic demand in Croatia. To observe the public debt effects on a fiscal policy, a “closed” model is compared with an “extended” model which includes a debt-to-GDP indicator. Results show a negative impact of recession on public debt sustainability and confirm the main thesis that public debt level significantly affects and reduces the effectiveness of fiscal policy in Croatia.
The aim of this paper is to analyze the main determinants of the economic life in Croatian municipalities. For that purpose, we collected data related to the municipal budgets and business results of ...entrepreneurs registered in 427 municipalities during 2007-2011 period. In order to determine and study the variations in municipal economic outcomes related to the size of municipalities, their administrative status (municipalities belonging to the areas of state national concern, hill and mountain areas, and island areas), their geographic location and dominant political party in the municipality, we apply multivariate statistics methods (Levene's test of variance homogeneity, ANOTA, and Sheffe post-hoc test). The results suggest that size of the municipalities explains the variation related to municipal fiscal capacity and average net earnings of inhabitants living in municipalities. The political affiliation of a mayor is related to the differences in the relative amount of aid granted from the central government budget, fiscal capacity and indebtness, while the differences in administrative status of municipalities account for discrepancies observed in employment, average net earnings, indebtedness, central government aid, and expenditures for social protection. The basic conclusion of research is that Croatian municipalities differ significantly in the majority of the analyzed economic determinants and that current administrative status should be subject to the general local government reform, not only in special status and number of local units but also in fiscal equalization process.
The main goal of this policy paper is to provide an overview of the basic problems that have impact on healthcare in Croatia and tend to make it unsustainable. The paper points out that the COVID-19 ...crisis has deepened and exacerbated the already existing problems of financing the health system. The analysis shows that Croatia swept under the rug systemic problems in financing healthcare and ultimately paid the price through frequent financial bailouts. Thus, in the period from 1994-2021, a total of HRK 23.9 billion was spent on bailing out the health service. On the other hand, the COVID-19 crisis can be seen as a chance to start solving the problem and implement certain reforms, both on the revenue and expenditure side of the health system.
Croatia has joined the European Union as a country with several substantial
structural problems, of which the most important is weak competitiveness.
Although competitiveness can be viewed from the ...?institutional? perspective,
which includes World Development Indicators (WDI) and Doing Business reports,
in this paper the authors focus on the more standard view of competitiveness
based on unit labour costs (ULC) and real effective exchange rate (REER). As
a small, open and highly dollarized/euroised economy that has to coordinate
its economic policy with the EU policy framework, Croatia has limited space
for increasing international competitiveness using monetary policy measures
aimed at (nominal) devaluation of the national currency. Therefore economic
policy stakeholders should focus on decreasing unit labour costs and real
effective exchange rate mainly through the process of internal devaluation,
which is based on adequate fiscal policy measures. In this paper the authors
analyse the role of monetary and fiscal policy in the deteriorating real
effective exchange rate and unit labour costs since 2000, and their current
capabilities and restrictions in restoring international competitiveness. The
Structural VAR model (SVAR) is used to estimate the effects of foreign
(banking) capital, credit growth, and current public expenditure on REER and
ULC. The preliminary hypothesis of the paper is that monetary policy should
continue to support bank lending activities and the role of fiscal policy is
to achieve an internal devaluation, which will increase the competitiveness
of the Croatian economy. Restoring international competitiveness is necessary
due to its impact on net exports and consequently the economic recovery of
the national economy, which has faced recession conditions for five years in
a row. Also, restoring competitiveness is one of the most important
preconditions for the success of a small country joining the single European
market.
nema
Following the Romer and Romer narrative approach (RR), this paper investigates the effects of tax changes (personal income tax and value added tax in particular) on economic activity in Croatia. We ...use the narrative approach to identify exogenous tax shocks and construct a unique time series of these shocks for the 2004-2019 period. However, as Croatia is a small open economy, we adjust the original RR modelling approach by taking into account the relevance of external (demand) shocks. Our results indicate that positive tax shocks lead to a fall in private consumption and output in the Keynesian manner. We show that, compared to direct taxes, indirect taxes exercise a stronger effect on macroeconomic aggregates, but the effect of direct taxes is statistically significant throughout the whole time horizon and does not fade out. As the main contributions of this paper to the existing literature, we highlight the following: firstly, this paper sets forth the first estimates of the macroeconomic effects of tax changes based on the narrative approach in the case of a developing economy; secondly, this study extends the original RR approach by including the effects of external shocks, making this approach more suitable for the analysis of fiscal policy in small open economies.
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