Using fixed effects models, we explore the efficacy of Public Financial Management (PFM) in tackling crime against children, controlling for economic growth. The fiscal variables are found to have significant impact on reducing the crime against children, and not the economic growth. The coefficients from the non-linear models revealed an inverse relationship between the squared term of social sector spending and crime against children. The specific PFM tools like child budgeting (c-PFM) per se instantaneously did not reduce the crime against children. However, the year of inception of c-PFM and crime against children are inversely related in the models, indicating that the long-term c-PFM is efficacious in reducing crime against children, which has policy implications in the sense that the budgetary allocation on child protection within the c-PFM needs to be strengthened.

 

KEYWORDS: Public Financial Management; Child Budgeting; Social Spending; Child Protection

 

JEL CLASSIFICATIONS: C33; H00; H5; J13