Financing support programs for internally displaced persons in Ukraine: Effectiveness and needs alignment

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractThe growing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), combined with challenges in financing social programs during wartime, highlights the importance of ensuring the effectiveness of public spending. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of state programs supporting IDPs in terms of their alignment with the target group’s needs. The assessment was conducted based on data from a nationally representative sociological survey of IDPs. The analysis of the effectiveness of the housing assistance program for IDPs was conducted using elasticity coefficients that consider price growth and changes in the subsistence minimum. According to IDPs’ assessment, most programs funded from the state budget meet current needs and are rated above the average level, above 2.5 points out of 5. Programs of legal and informational support (3.8), cash assistance (4.3), access to medical care without restrictions (i.e., the requirement to sign a declaration) (3.4), provision of social housing (3.3), and tax deductions under rental agreements (3.2) are considered highly relevant. Low relevance was assigned to assistance with relocating businesses (1.7), grant support for starting a business (2.2), housing loans (2.2), and vocational training through referrals from the State Employment Service (2.4). Conclusions were drawn about the need for periodic monitoring of IDP needs and analyzing the effectiveness of funding while considering price changes and the subsidence minimum. This approach could be used to support decisions regarding the attraction of alternative sources of financing for social programs when state budget funding is insufficient to cover basic living needs of IDPs.AcknowledgmentThis study is supported by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine under the project No.2021.01/0343 “Ensuring social protection of ATO / JFO participants and social integration of IDP under the condition of increasing threats to social security”.