title: Economic analysis of social services for the elderly in Serbia: two sides of the same coin.
abstract: According to demographic trends, the ratio of senior citizens in the overall population of the Republic of Serbia is rising. This generates the need to create socially acceptable and economically sustainable models for the protection of the elderly. The goal of this paper is to stress the necessity of analyzing and evaluating the efficiency of social protection services aimed at senior citizens. The first part of the paper underlines the need for economic analysis of these services; while the second part features the analysis of the two most frequently provided services for the elderly in Serbia: admission to social protection institutions and home care for senior citizens. Based on the research results, the paper also provides a comparative overview of the efficiency of the services mentioned. This overview clearly confirms that both services prove to be economically justifiable from a social perspective; nevertheless, it also indicates that the cost of home care per user is considerably lower than the cost of putting a senior citizen into a nursing home. After presenting and discussing the results of the studies, the paper also offers recommendations aimed at enhancing the development and sustainability of the social protection system for the elderly in Serbia.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Jove Ilica 154, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: mihicm@fon.bg.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Marko M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mihic
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Jove Ilica 154, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: todorovicm@fon.bg.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Marija Lj
authors.initials: MLj
authors.lastname: Todorovic
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Jove Ilica 154, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: obradovicv@fon.bg.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Vladimir Lj
authors.initials: VLj
authors.lastname: Obradovic
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D055771:Serbia; D012947:Social Work / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: Cost–benefit analysis; Elderly; Social protection services