Regions and Countries

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p. 4 of 20 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment A. Economic Performance Assessment B. Poverty Assessment C. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance D. Governance: Sound Development Management E. Implementation Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Subregional Economic Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Mongolia : I. Country Performance Assessment

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C. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance

1. Gender Issues

18. Women occupy a high status in Mongolian society, are well-educated and well-represented in most occupations, and have equal or better access than men to education and employment opportunities. Female enrollment is higher than males at most levels, including university education. The introduction of the tuition fee system in higher education has not resulted in gender imbalance in enrollment. Labor retrenchment has not impacted more adversely on women than on men. However, in education and health, where approximately 70 percent of staff are women, implementation of civil service reform, including a staff rationalization plan, should be handled in a way which minimizes, to the extent possible, adverse social consequences. There is evidence that women have been more adversely affected than men by the deteriorating health and child care services, and nearly 60 percent of individuals living in female-headed households are poor, compared with a poverty rate of 31 percent for those living in male-headed households. Women are also increasingly being affected by alcohol-related violence during the transition to a market economy.

19. Mongolia has a history of substantial gender equality due to its nomadic lifestyle and former socialist tradition. In today’s Mongolia, however, gender-related problems that work to the disadvantage of the males are increasing, and no high-level gender advocacy has been established in the Government’s administrative system to plan for and oversee their correction. A study of gender and development, initiated as part of the new COS, found that the female population appears to be achieving higher levels of education than the male population, particularly at higher stages of education. Young males are taken out of school to contribute labor to livestock production in family herds, and in a modernizing society, this poses a problem for males who will risk lacking the knowledge and skills necessary to adapt to a rapidly evolving market economy. Boys comprise about 40 percent of the student population in secondary schools and only 20 percent at the tertiary level. Standards of health are relatively good for both genders.

20. Traditional factors that have worked in most societies against equal opportunities for women however, are also at work in Mongolia. One noticeable trend is that households headed by females have a high tendency to be poor. Future reforms in the public sector are also expected to work against women in the civil service, as a high portion of the civil servants in the overstaffed sectors of the Government are females.

2. Human Development

21. As in many countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU), Mongolia’s social development was impressive before independence. Health, education, and social protection were universal and at very high levels. About 40 percent of government expenditures were devoted to social development. In addition, state enterprises financed various social schemes. As a result, poverty was very low and social living standards and human development relatively high. With the transition to a market economy and privatization, social expenditures decreased. In the initial years of transition, with high inflows of development aid replacing the former subsidies from Moscow, and high export earnings, the Government could maintain a relatively high involvement in the social sector, housing, and heating finance. More recently, public expenditures on health and education, while lower than before, still remain high by international standards. The largest share of the budget is devoted to education (15 percent in 1998), social security (15 percent), and health (6 percent).

22. The Government recognizes that deterioration of human development indicators through the running down of health and education and social services will constrain future economic growth and the nation’s development. Widespread poverty can hinder the growth of local markets and depress savings, constraining growth in the longer term. Hence, the Government places high priority on human development as an integral part of the nation’s development strategy. The Government also recognizes that the transformation to a market-oriented economy requires new skills that are not widely available in the present work force.

3. Environment

23. Because of the disregard for environmental concerns prior to 1990, environmental pressures have risen. Water and air pollution, deposits of toxic wastes, desertification, deforestation, groundwater depletion, soil erosion, and overgrazing are significant problems. Since 1990 the policy of the Government with respect to environmental issues has changed. There is now greater concern for the environment and new legislation has been adopted. The institutional, monitoring, and enforcement framework is, however, still weak.

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