Publication Details
Abstract
This study examines how public finance instruments shape the effectiveness of social protection in transition economies, with Uzbekistan as the primary case. Using descriptive analysis of official statistics for 2019-2025, the paper relates fiscal aggregates and social spending to welfare outcomes including the national poverty rate and the Gini coefficient. The results indicate that the expansion of targeted assistance and the digitalisation of the Unified Registry of Social Protection coincided with a decline in the national poverty rate from 8.9% to 5.8% and an improvement of the Gini coefficient from 34.6 to 32.7 between 2024 and 2025. The discussion identifies fiscal sustainability, administrative capacity and targeting accuracy as the main constraints on further progress.