Romania - Country partnership strategy for the period FY2014-2017 - brochure

A STRONG ECONOMY FOR ALL ROMANIANS COUNTRY PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY (CPS) for Romania for

2014-2017

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What is the CPS? The World Bank Group’s country partnership strategy (CPS) is a framework that aims to support the Government of Romania in the fight against poverty, to reach sustainable income growth for the entire population. As such, the CPS is an instrument for cooperation between the Government of Romania and the World Bank Group.

The strategy is structured on

3

main directions, called

CPS pillars:

1

Creating a 21st Century Government

2

Supporting Economic Development and Job Creation

ncreasing 3 ISocial Inclusion

The CPS is the result of extensive consultations with a wide variety of stakeholders in the government, the European Commission and international institutions, the private sector, academia, think tanks, civil society, and representatives of local public authorities and residents within Romania.

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1

Creating a 21st Century Government

Romania needs a strong public administration and service delivery system capable of developing and implementing strategies for economic welfare and social progress. Romania also needs to make better use of available European structural funds. Accordingly, the World Bank will continue to support the creation of a 21st century government through various projects to:

Strengthen the administrative capacity Improve the tax collecting system Make better use of the European funds Reform the health system Support the budget

2 Supporting Economic Development and Job Creation Going further Romania needs more economic growth and the creation of jobs. The business environment can be improved, as Romania currently ranks 73rd worldwide, behind other regional competitors such as Bulgaria, Hungary or Poland. Therefore, the World Bank Group will support economic growth and job creation in Romania by improving the business environment and by developing the capital market, as well as by encouraging an efficient and inclusive labor market.

The World Bank Group’s overarching goals are to end extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Achieving both goals will require the increased role of the private sector. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, works directly with the private sector and will develop local capital markets to create access to longterm local currency finance and invests in private sector companies to create jobs and opportunities where they are needed most.

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3 Increasing Social Inclusion Romania needs to insure that prosperity is shared and no citizen is left behind. Poverty remains a reality and the programs fighting it should be developed taking into account the uneven geographical distribution of poverty in the country.

The Southern and Eastern regions are significantly poorer than the Center or the West. At the same time, one of the most disadvantaged categories is the Roma population. The disparities between the Roma and the non-Roma are apparent from early childhood, especially in the level of education. 61% of the Roma people have attended primary school, 30% have completed 10 years of compulsory education, and only 9% have graduated high school. The limited access to education comes with significant negative consequences on the labor market. Because of the low access to education and opportunities, only a third of the Roma in Romania are legally employed.

However, over 55% of the incomes earned by the Roma are the result of their work.

Poverty risk

16%

41%

Gender Equality The cross-cutting theme of the strategy is gender equality. Important gender differences remain for instance, the rate of women’s participation in the labor market is lower - 56.2% as compared to 71.6% for men.

Increasing social inclusion implies an enhanced package of integrated services for the marginalized communities in terms of education, health, social security, infrastructure and labor market.

Moreover, the World Bank will concentrate on promoting gender equality and the social inclusion of marginalized communities.

The World Bank Group supports Romania through our country partnership for the next four years to ensure a strong economic growth in the best interest of every Romanian citizen.

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