To familiarize everyone with key socioeconomic terms and concepts, we have this new social media series.
For this week, our buzzword is "public transfers”.
They refer to goods and services received from the government through social programs, such as education, health, pension, and other social protection.
The term emphasizes the source of funding (public revenues) and the financial flow that facilitates government programs that target specific segments of the population (e.g., students, elderly, unemployed).
Source: National Transfer Accounts
A PIDS study found that the current generations of Filipinos are contributing more than what they receive in benefits through the public transfer system. This suggests that the public transfer program in the Philippines is generally sustainable. However, there are still fiscal deficits in certain public transfer programs, such as in social health insurance and old-age pension. The government needs to find ways to fund and facilitate public transfers to ensure fiscal sustainability and generational fairness.
Know more about investment and intergenerational transfers by reading “Is Government a Good Investment? Public Transfers for Filipino Generations Born in 1950 to 2020” at https://www.pids.gov.ph/publication/discussion-papers/is-government-a-good-investment-public-transfers-for-filipino-generations-born-in-1950-to-2020.
