Reducing Error, Fraud and Corruption (EFC) in Social Protection Programs

Social Protection (SP) and Social Safety Net (SSN) programs channel a large amount of public resources, it is important to make sure that these reach the intended beneficiaries. Error, fraud, or corruption (EFC) reduces the economic efficiency of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Tesliuc, Emil Daniel, Milazzo, Annamaria
Format:	Brief
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	ABUSE ABUSES ACCOUNTABILITY ACCOUNTING ADMINISTRATIVE COST ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES ASSETS AUDIT OFFICE AUDITOR BANK ACCOUNTS BENEFICIARIES BENEFICIARY BRIBERY BUDGET CONSTRAINTS CALL CENTERS CASH FLOWS CASH TRANSFER CASH TRANSFERS CHECKS CIVIL SOCIETY CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS CLAIM CLAIMANT CLAIMANTS COMPLAINT COMPLAINTS CONFIDENCE CORRUPTION CREDIBILITY CREDIT PROGRAM CRIMINAL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISABILITY INSURANCE DISABILITY PENSION DISCRETION DUE PROCESS ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ERROR CONTROL EXPENDITURE FALSE STATEMENT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAUD FRAUDULENT CLAIMS GENERAL PUBLIC HEALTH CARE ILLEGAL PAYMENTS IMPLEMENTING AGENCY IMPROPER PAYMENTS INFORMATION SYSTEM INFORMATION SYSTEMS INNOVATIONS INSTITUTION INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY INSURANCE INTEGRITY INTERNAL AUDIT INVESTIGATION INVESTIGATIONS INVESTING KICKBACKS LOCAL GOVERNMENT MATCHING STRATEGIES MATERIAL MATURITY OFFENSES OLD-AGE PENSION OLD-AGE PENSIONS OPPORTUNITY COST OPPORTUNITY COSTS PENALTIES POLICE POLICE OFFICERS PROCUREMENT PROGRAMS PROSECUTIONS PROSECUTOR PUBLIC SPENDING RATES REGISTRATION PROCESS REGISTRY REMEDIES RESULTS RETURN SAFETY NET SAFETY NETS SALARY SANCTIONS SAVINGS SERVICE CONTRACTS SERVICE DELIVERY SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL SECURITY SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEMS TARGETS TELEPHONE TIME PERIOD TRAINING COURSE TRANSPARENCY TREASURY UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS VERIFICATION
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/01/11503590/reducing-error-fraud-corruption-efc-social-protection-programs http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11770

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Summary:	Social Protection (SP) and Social Safety Net (SSN) programs channel a large amount of public resources, it is important to make sure that these reach the intended beneficiaries. Error, fraud, or corruption (EFC) reduces the economic efficiency of these interventions by decreasing the amount of money that goes to the intended beneficiaries, and erodes the political support for the program. While no program is immune to EFC, evidence from developed countries demonstrates that such leakage can be brought to negligible levels. In five Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries (UK, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and USA) this fraction is between 2-5 percent for the SP sector as a whole. For SSN programs, which use more complex eligibility criteria and hence are more prone to EFC, this fraction is 10 percent. To achieve these results, programs have implemented a number of measures reviewed in this note. In contrast, efforts to combat or even measure EFC are quite rare in developing countries, although some programs are plagued by it.

Reducing Error, Fraud and Corruption (EFC) in Social Protection Programs

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