Abstract:
Social protection is and must be seen as an investment. Providing social protection measures is not just a cost or a "rescue package", but an investment in the development of a country, providing returns in poverty reduction; increasing the demand of a healthier, better educated, and more productive workforce. The social assistance system in Moldova has been in crisis in recent years, largely due to the impossibility of ensuring effective and sustainable fiscal protection of the poor and vulnerable. In particular, social protection expenses are high, but its efforts of effective social assistance are being undermined by the fragmentation into several low-performing programs.
