Abstract Croatia's most recent reform of the healthcare system was implemented in 2008. The aim of the reform was to enhance financial stability of the system by introducing additional sources of ...financing, as well as increase the efficiency of the system by reducing sick pay transfers to households, rationalising spending on pharmaceuticals, restructuring hospitals etc. This paper attempts to assess the success of the 2008 healthcare system reform in reaching financial stability and sustainability, and to evaluate the effects of the reform on equity in funding the system. It takes into account the fact that the reform coincided with a severe economic crisis and decline in the overall living standard of Croatian citizens. The paper shows that the reform ended up being expansionary and thus impaired the necessary fiscal adjustment. Finally, it is argued that in circumstances of declining disposable incomes, increased co-payments aimed at the financial stabilisation of the health system made health services less affordable and could have had detrimental effects on equity in the utilisation of health care.
This paper brings an empirical assessment of economies of scale in local government units in Croatia. Using cross-section OLS models, we found statistically significant U-shaped relationship between ...local per capita expenditures and population size, while controlling for various demographic, socio-economic and institutional factors. The choice of control variables in the paper is based on the existing empirical literature but also includes factors capturing the specificities of Croatian economy and local government institutional setup. Using estimated regression coefficients we calculated the optimal size of local units and showed that population size is below optimal in 72% of cities and 76% of municipalities (based on median results).
Since there is constant concern that local government heads allocate budget resources in favour of various pressure groups, the paper investigates whether local participatory budgeting can be ...implemented in order to better align budget allocation with citizens' needs in the Croatian context. The paper analyses the results of the citizen survey intended to question whether the citizens of Zagreb could embrace the participatory budgeting, based on their interest in the way the money of Zagreb's taxpayers is spent and willingness to participate in the budget preparation process. The main determinants of the interest, awareness and participation of citizens in local budget processes are explored as well. The results of this study indicate a moderate level of citizen awareness and interest in local budget processes, but an extremely low level of participation. Since citizen participation is crucial for democratic decision-making and ensuring transparency and accountability, the identified factors should be addressed in a planned manner Citizens' willingness and capacity can be increased through raising awareness and implementing measures intended to encourage spontaneous participation.
Cilj je ovog rada analizirati zadružno gospodarstvo u Hrvatskoj kako bi se utvrdilo u kojoj je mjeri ono prisutno, kako posluje te ukazati na probleme koji bi aktivnijim bavljenjem tim područjem ...mogli biti ublaženi. Analiza je pokazala da je taj segment gospodarstva u Hrvatskoj razvijen daleko manje nego što bi to objektivno bilo moguće. Zadruge obuhvaćaju vrlo malen dio hrvatskog gospodarstva te uz to u prosjeku imaju slabije poslovne pokazatelje od ostatka gospodarstva. Međutim, budući da zadruge mogu povećati učinkovitost poslovanja članova zadruge, postoji velik neiskorišteni gospodarski potencijal, koji se sastoji od mogućnosti udruživanja pojedinih poduzetnika u zadruge.
The national policy responses to the rising drug problem are effectuated by financing a large set of activities aimed at combating drug abuse. This paper provides an analysis of drug-related public ...expenditures in Croatia. We have examined the expenditures of public sector institutions in Croatia in the period from 2009 to 2012. Our main research goal was to identify the total drug-related public expenditures including the unlabelled ones, and to develop the method of estimating and allocating unlabelled expenditures by the type of drug policy program. The estimated total expenditures according to Reuter's drug program division are allocated into prevention, treatment and social reintegration, harm reduction, and law enforcement. The results indicate which types of drug policy programs public authorities in Croatia are really committed to in the sense that those programs absorb the largest proportions of total drug policy expenditures. The methodology applied could contribute to the development of the international methodological standards in this field. The findings are discussed in terms of future monitoring of public expenditures and policy recommendations, in order to facilitate better design programs and activities carried out by policy makers in fighting drug abuse in Croatia.
Nakon nešto više od godine dana od referenduma na kojem je većina Britanaca izabrala izlazak Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva iz Europske unije, vrijeme je da se sagledaju uzroci, kratkoročne i moguće ...dugoročne ekonomske posljedice Brexita. Ishod referenduma stvorio je negativna očekivanja i povećao neizvjesnost. Stoga je gospodarski rast u UK-u već sada usporen, iako se odnos izmeðu UK-a i Unije još nije nimalo promijenio. Izlaskom iz Unije britansko bi se gospodarstvo, ovisno o rezultatima pregovora s EUom, moglo do 2030. godine smanjiti za 2 do 8 posto. Na preostale članice Unije Brexit će imati različito djelovanje, a u prosjeku njihov bi BDP mogao pasti za 0,5 do 1,5 posto. Hrvatska bi, zbog niskog stupnja povezanosti s britanskim gospodarstvom, mogla ostati pošteðena značajnijeg nepovoljnog učinka Brexita. Usprkos tome, Brexit itekako zavreðuje da ga pratimo s osobitom pozornošću i da iz toga dogaðaja učimo o mogućim gospodarskim učincima neodgovorne i populističke politike.
The aim of this paper is to provide a general overview of immovable property tax. The first part describes recurrent tax on immovable property as a tax form belonging to the group of property taxes, ...and outlines the differences between recurrent tax on immovable property and other forms of property taxes. This is followed by a list of advantages and disadvantages of introducing such a tax. Focus is then placed on the issues involved in identifying and evaluating the tax basis for immovable property taxes through mass valuation. Tax exemptions and benefits are also discussed. The first part of this paper ends with information on the contribution of recurrent tax on immovable property in the EU. The second part of this paper deals with issues regarding the introduction of tax on immovable property in Croatia. First we describe existing fees that resemble recurrent tax on immovable property. Then we specify the necessary preconditions for implementing such a tax, primarily with regard to the identification and evaluation of the tax basis. Finally, we address the conceptual matter of reconciling property taxation with other features of the Croatian tax system. The paper ends with recommendations for tax policy-makers as to which issues should be given special attention.
During the financial and economic crisis, the public debt ratio in the European Union increased significantly, and public debt management had to be carried out in a completely new and unfavorable ...environment. The authors of this paper explore the changes in public debt management during and after the crisis. They describe the way in which three members of the Union - the Netherlands, Ireland and Hungary - dealt with the challenge of government financing during the crisis. These three countries were chosen because they all had a comparatively well-developed public debt management system before the crisis, and also due to the fact that during the crisis those responsible for public debt management pursued a policy of active accommodation to current market circumstances. Therefore, these case studies can illustrate the capacity of public debt management to contribute to the prevention of a sovereign debt crisis. In the conclusion, the authors give an overview of public debt management in Croatia in the period of the crisis and compare it with public debt management in the three countries whose experiences are presented in the paper.
Nakon nešto više od godine dana od referenduma na kojem je većina Britanaca izabrala izlazak Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva iz Europske unije, vrijeme je da se sagledaju uzroci, kratkoročne i moguće ...dugoročne ekonomske posljedice Brexita. Ishod referenduma stvorio je negativna očekivanja i povećao neizvjesnost. Stoga je gospodarski rast u UK-u već sada usporen, iako se odnos između UK-a i Unije još nije nimalo promijenio. Izlaskom iz Unije britansko bi se gospodarstvo, ovisno o rezultatima pregovora s EU-om, moglo do 2030. godine smanjiti za 2 do 8 posto. Na preostale članice Unije Brexit će imati različito djelovanje, a u prosjeku njihov bi BDP mogao pasti za 0,5 do 1,5 posto. Hrvatska bi, zbog niskog stupnja povezanosti s britanskim gospodarstvom, mogla ostati pošteđena značajnijeg nepovoljnog učinka Brexita. Usprkos tome, Brexit itekako zavređuje da ga pratimo s osobitom pozornošću i da iz toga događaja učimo o mogućim gospodarskim učincima neodgovorne i populističke politike.
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