{"id":3114,"date":"2017-06-10T11:34:38","date_gmt":"2017-06-10T19:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=3114&lang=en"},"modified":"2017-06-10T12:34:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-10T20:34:00","slug":"guatemalas-public-spending-worst-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/guate-in-graphs\/guatemalas-public-spending-worst-in-the-world\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Guatemala’s public spending: Worst in the world?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The World Bank rated Guatemala last in the world in public spending and government revenues and near the bottom in public investment in its 2014 report \u201cGuatemala\u2019s Econonic DNA<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The graphs\u00a0above compare revenues, public spending, and social investment as a percent of GDP (a measure of the production of a national economy). In other words, it measures how much of the wealth generated by the Guatemalan economy is spent by the state on public programs. The rankings are out of the countries surveyed.<\/p>\n

(As the graphic implies, there is a strong correlation between Guatemala\u2019s government revenue\/tax system and low social spending and investment. For more on this, see Guate in Graphs: Taxes.)<\/p>\n

Three next three charts from the UN\u2019s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) put Guatemala\u2019s levels of social spending and social investment in a regional context.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This graph from ECLAC\u2019s annual Social Panorama report<\/a> shows social spending per capita<\/em>, the amount of money per citizen that each country spends on social programs. This sheds light on how Guatemala earned the World Bank\u2019s last place rating.<\/p>\n

This next chart from a different 2017 ECLAC report<\/a> measures government spending on health, housing, education, and social security as percent of GDP.<\/p>\n

Guatemala spends less than almost any other country in the region. Guatemala also spends less on healthcare and other health services than any other country listed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Purple, Education; Red, Social security; Diagonals, Housing; Pink, Health.)<\/p>\n

Another graph from ECLAC\u2019s Social Panorama report<\/a> shows public investment as percent of GDP. Public investment is different from the social spending shown in the previous graph. It refers to spending for the future, such as on roads and other infrastructure, while social spending refers to regular continuous spending, like on teachers\u2019 salaries, welfare programs, or electricity subsidies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In both categories, social spending and public investment, Guatemala spends less than almost every other country in the region.<\/p>\n

(The uneven distribution of Guatemala\u2019s social spending, between urban and rural areas and indigenous and non-indigenous areas, for example, is addressed in Guatemala in Graphs: Inequality.)<\/p>\n

The next two Social Panorama report charts measure spending on social security (support for retired workers) and welfare (anti-poverty) programs over time. The first uses a percent GDP measure and the second a per capita <\/em>measure. Again, Guatemala spends less than almost every other country. Only Honduras appears to spend less.<\/p>\n

It’s important to compare percent of GDP data with per capita data. Note that Panama spends about the same amount as a percent of GDP, but much more on a per capita<\/em> basis. Guatemala spends 1.4% of GDP on social security and welfare programs, and Panama spends 1.3%. But Panama\u2019s spending amounts to $124 per citizen, while Guatemala\u2019s amounts to just $43.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/h6>\n
Spanish translation pending.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The World Bank rated Guatemala last in the world in public spending and government revenues and near the bottom in public investment in its 2014 report \u201cGuatemala\u2019s Econonic DNA.\u201d The graphs\u00a0above compare revenues, public spending, and social investment as a percent of GDP (a measure of the production of a national economy). In other words, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[829],"tags":[836,805,833,65,560,818,834,832,831,835,830,837],"class_list":["post-3114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guate-in-graphs","tag-eclac","tag-economic-policy","tag-government-spending","tag-guatemala","tag-guatemala-en","tag-inequality","tag-latin-america","tag-per-capita","tag-public-spending","tag-social-panorama","tag-social-spending","tag-world-bank"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/guatemalaworldbankworst.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-Oe","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3189,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/guate-in-graphs-last-in-the-world-in-public-spending\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3114,"position":0},"title":"Guate in Graphs: Last in the world in public spending?","author":"EntreMundos","date":"7 agosto, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The World Bank rated Guatemala last in the world in public spending and government revenues and near the bottom in public investment in its 2014 report \u201cGuatemala\u2019s Econonic DNA.\u201d The graphs compare revenues, public spending, and social investment as a percent of GDP (a measure of the production of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abEconomy\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/publicspendingi.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/publicspendingi.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/publicspendingi.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/publicspendingi.png?fit=921%2C554&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3167,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/guate-in-graphs\/guatemalas-low-government-debt\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3114,"position":1},"title":"Guatemala’s low government debt","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 junio, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Some countries decide not to fund social programs or social investments so they don\u2019t accumulate too much debt. But Guatemala has one of the lowest debt burdens in the region, so its low social spending and investment can\u2019t be attributed to debt aversion. This chart, from the 2017 report \u201cConsensus\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abGuate in Graphs\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Guate in Graphs","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/guate-in-graphs\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/socialspending25.png?fit=921%2C491&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/socialspending25.png?fit=921%2C491&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/socialspending25.png?fit=921%2C491&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/socialspending25.png?fit=921%2C491&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3128,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/guate-in-graphs\/why-is-guatemalas-low-social-investment-a-problem\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3114,"position":2},"title":"Why is Guatemala’s low social investment a problem?","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 junio, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Why is Guatemala\u2019s extremely low spending on public programs and social investment a problem? In short, it increases poverty and hurts competitiveness. Due in large part to lack of social spending, poverty in Guatemala has been increasing, and this has macroeconomic consequences. According to the World Bank\u2019s 2014 Guatemala\u2019s Economic\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abGuate in Graphs\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Guate in Graphs","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/guate-in-graphs\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/social-spending-8.png?fit=921%2C566&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/social-spending-8.png?fit=921%2C566&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/social-spending-8.png?fit=921%2C566&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/social-spending-8.png?fit=921%2C566&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3147,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/guate-in-graphs\/guatemalas-poverty-statistics-compared-to-the-region\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3114,"position":3},"title":"Guatemala’s poverty statistics compared to the region","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 junio, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Rates of poverty\u00a0and extreme poverty in Guatemala have both been increasing, while the rates of most other countries in the region are decreasing.. The chart below from ECLAC\u2019s 2015 Social Panorama report\u00a0also shows\u00a0that the poor are getting poorer in Guatemala, while in most other countries in the region this is\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abGuate in Graphs\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Guate in Graphs","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/guate-in-graphs\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/socialspending18.png?fit=921%2C620&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/socialspending18.png?fit=921%2C620&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/socialspending18.png?fit=921%2C620&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/socialspending18.png?fit=921%2C620&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1280,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/the-new-guat-times-an-interview-with-one-of-guatemalas-glbt-youth\/","url_meta":{"origin":3114,"position":4},"title":"The New-Guat Times: An interview with one of Guatemala\u2019s GLBT youth","author":"EntreMundos","date":"15 octubre, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Jillian Szacki When 22-year-old Jos\u00e9 Perez isn\u2019t busy studying Graphic Design in Guatemala City, Perez likes to hang out with his friends, relax at home with his family, and go to the movies with his boyfriend. 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