How increasing protection expenses for the disabled impacts economic growth. A perspective study

The main aim of this study is to make a quantitative assessment of the impact of social protection expenses on the economic growth in Romania. This type of analysis helps improve medical policies as well as disabled people’s lives. The bioethical background of this matter is related to the fact that disabled people benefit from supplementary assistance that requires increased expenses compared to the rest of the population. However, these expenses might negatively affect the economic growth of a country, which is not well seen by economists. In Romania, 21,2% of the variation in the GDP rate is due to changes in the expenses for the protection of disabled people, the rest being attributed to other factors.
The results confirm the economic expectations: the social protection expenses for the disabled have a negative impact on economic growth, however to a very low extent. Therefore, we recommend the increase of the social protection expenses based on bioethical reasons, and also on economic reasons, given that the economic growth is not affected to a considerable extent.