Improving public expenditure management from the perspective of consolidation of economic, social and cultural rights

Abstract

Economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) are materialised through public goods and services, which are produced and provided, respectively, through public expenditure. To a great extent, respecting human rights in the Republic of Moldova is affected by unsatisfactory evolution of public expenditure and the way the latter is managed. From the theoretical-scientific perspective, the research has been done in the context of a complex and systematic approach to modern economic and social concepts. The complexity of social, economic and financial phenomena, which have been studied, necessitated the use of statistical methods, in particular the correlation and simple regression analysis. At the same time, the comparative analysis was used for the same purpose. Public expenditure management is a process which permits governments to be responsible, from the fiscal point of view, for spending on the correct things and benefiting at the maximum from limited public resources. The quality of public expenditure management with an impact on respecting ESCR is evaluated through the prism of basic objectives of public financial management, namely the following: maintaining strict financial discipline, allocating public financial resources in conformity with government’s priorities, efficient provision of public services. The central public administration and local public administrations from the Republic of Moldova are relatively more successful in consolidating fiscal discipline than in providing the efficient use of public expenditure in conformity with strategic priorities. The research argues a positive effect which can be made by improvement of public expenditure management on respecting ESCR in the Republic of Moldova.