Cote d'Ivoire - Public Finance Review : Odyssey in (Fiscal) Space - Stepping up the Mid-Income Ladder in Times of Uncertainty : Part Two - Boosting Human Capital Outcomes Through Better Spending (English)

This Public Finance Review (PFR) aims to provide policy options for better spending on education, healthcare, and social protection. On the one hand, revenue collection underperforms vis-à-vis peers. A large informal sector, a complex and opaque tax system, and substantial tax exemptions to the private sector hinder revenue mobilization. On the other hand, while productive spending has been a priority since 2012, there is room to improve the efficiency of this spending. Investment in physical capital, education, and health is crucial to underpin long-term inclusive growth. Increasing the output of public spending requires better allocation from less to more productive uses and better use of scarce public resources, mostly through technical efficiencies. Fiscal institutions will also need to be strengthened to ensure adequate tax policy and administration capacity, budget processes and public financial management across administrative areas. Part I of the PFR addresses the need for stronger macroeconomic fundamentals. This second part focuses on identifying area for spending efficiencies in all three sectors comprising human capital. The analysis presents the key human capital challenges (Part 2.1), it then explores the sources of inefficiencies (Part 2.2).