Question 52

Does the Executive’s Budget Proposal or any supporting budget documentation present estimates of policies (both new proposals and existing policies) that are intended to benefit directly the country’s most impoverished populations in at least the budget year?
 * a. Yes, estimates of all policies that are intended to benefit directly the country’s most impoverished populations are presented, along with a narrative discussion.
 * b. Yes, estimates of all policies that are intended to benefit directly the country’s most impoverished populations are presented, but a narrative discussion is not included.
 * c. Yes, estimates of some but not all policies that are intended to benefit directly the country’s most impoverished populations are presented.
 * d. No, estimates of policies that are intended to benefit directly the country’s most impoverished populations are not presented.
 * e. Not applicable/other (please comment).

Guidelines
Question 52 asks whether the budget highlight policies, both new and existing, that benefit the poorest segments of society. This question is intended to assess only those programs that directly address the immediate needs of the poor, such as through cash assistance programs or the provision of housing, rather than indirectly, such as through a stronger national defense. This information is of particular interest to those seeking to bolster government’s commitment to anti-poverty efforts. For purposes of answering this question, a departmental budget (such for the Department of Social Welfare) would not be considered acceptable. In general, this question is asking whether the EBP includes a special presentation that pulls together estimates of all the relevant policies in one place. However, if the country uses “program budgeting,” where programs are presented as expenditure categories with specific and identified objectives, and it identifies anti-poverty programs within each administrative unit, then that is also acceptable for this question.

The IBP Budget Brief, “How Transparent are Governments When it Comes to Their Budget’s Impact on Poverty and Inequality?” includes a discussion of countries that have provided information on how its policies affect the poor.

For instance, Pakistan provides a detailed breakdown of pro-poor expenditure as part of its 2017-18 budget proposal. In one document, the government sets out policy priorities, expected outputs, and estimates of past and future spending for several programs aimed at poverty alleviation. Another supporting document provides a comprehensive overview of ongoing policies, including a chapter on social safety nets, covering both financial and performance information of poverty alleviation schemes over a period of eight years. (http://www.finance.gov.pk/budget/mtbf_2018_21.pdf and http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey_1718.html).

To answer “a,” the Executive’s Budget Proposal or supporting documentation must for at least the budget year both present estimates covering all policies that are intended to benefit the most impoverished populations and include a narrative discussion that specifically addresses these policies. (For countries using program budgeting that breaks out individual anti-poverty programs, there should be a separate narrative associated with each such program.) Answer “b” if a narrative discussion is not included, but estimates for all policies that are intended to benefit the most impoverished populations are presented. Answer “c” if the presentation includes estimates covering only some, but not all, policies that are intended to benefit the most impoverished populations (regardless of whether it also includes a narrative discussion). Answer “d” if no estimates of policies that are intended to benefit the most impoverished populations are presented.

2) What is the connection between questions 36 and 52?
There is an alert in the platform that states: Q52=B, but Q36=D: granted that there is a connection between the two indicators, but neither the Wiki nor the Guidelines clarify how to approach this.

Discussion: This conversation was somehow resolved in the OBS 2019 but is coming back! While in principle having some level of information for Q52 (pro-poor programs) does not automatically guarantee a response other than “d” in Q36 (so we could actually have a “d” in Q36 and a “b” in Q52), in practice we have been fairly generous in Q36 and ended up using the answer to question 52 as evidence for one alternative display for Q36 (the “income” box).

Next steps: Do a consistency check with our preliminary 2021 data and check how many cases we have where Q52 responses are counted as 1 display in Q36 (and vice versa, how many countries have “d” in Q36 but something else in Q52.

Note from Cosette: I don’t actually know how this one was resolved (I think it was sent to Vikram for a consistency check). Elena wrote this one out so perhaps she will remember?