Paediatria Croatica, Vol. 64 No. 2, 2020.
Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.13112/PC.2020.9
Investing in children as a highly profi table social investment
Zdenko Babić
Sažetak
Studies in various scientifi c disciplines such as economics, epidemiology and psychology indicate that investments in children are
very profi table investments. Such investments bring multiple benefi ts, both to the children of programme participants and to their
families, the state and the society. One stream of research combines the benefi ts of investing in children’s health, which can have a
positive impact on economic growth. On the other hand, benefi ts are evident in multiple areas, from greater opportunities for
parents to participate in paid employment, reducing child poverty and sustainability of the social protection system, to alleviating
demographic pressures and positive eff ects on economic growth. Although investments in children and families are consistently
lower in Croatia than in European Union (EU) countries and there is a declaratory commitment among politicians about their
importance, it is still planned to reduce funding in the 2020 budget. While allocations in the EU countries amount to an average of
2.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in Croatia it is 1.8% of GDP with a slight increase in recent years due to the expansion of the
childcare sector in the fi eld of preschool education. In the Croatian context, the aforementioned topic has been researched in recent
years within the discipline of social issues, with several researches pointing out that programmes and services intended for children
are profi table social investments, especially when it comes to children at risk. Investments in children are becoming ever more important because of the advancement of children’s well-being, but also because of the great demographic challenges in Croatia.
Ključne riječi
: CHILD WELFARE; SOCIAL CHANGE
Hrčak ID:
243758
URI
Datum izdavanja:
25.6.2020.
Posjeta: 1.511 *