
📘 New Policy Study
We analyze how public finances translate (or fail to translate) into better education and health outcomes across six Western Balkan countries, using panel data for the period 2006–2020 and CMP methodology.
🔍 Key findings:
• 🧾 It’s not just how much we spend — it’s how we spend it: stronger budget execution is the key channel through which PFM affects outcomes
• 🎓 In education, PFM does not operate directly, but through improved technical efficiency → higher preschool enrolment and better student–teacher ratios
• 🏥 In health, better budget execution is associated with more doctors, higher DPT immunization coverage, and longer life expectancy
• 📉 Weak transparency and insufficient medium-term planning constrain the effectiveness of public spending
• ⚙️ PFM is the “silent driver” of social outcomes — without it, even higher spending fails to deliver results
📌 Policy message:
Improving health and education outcomes does not start in the classroom or the hospital, but in the budget process: medium-term planning, transparency, and disciplined execution.
🔗 shorturl.at/Wxdkc
#PublicFinanceManagement #Education #Health #WesternBalkans #EvidenceBasedPolicy #PFM




