Defending Dignity A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions on Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 10.6. DETERMINING PROGRESS OVER TIME It is important to compare budget allocations over time and assess whether there has been an increase or decrease in the amounts allocated to sectors through which ESCR can be fulfilled. It is important because it tells us something about whether the Government is taking action to “progressively” realize these rights. However, this is not as simple as just looking at budget figures from different years. Budget figures are reported in “nominal” terms, which means they do not take inflation into account. For this reason, it is necessary to convert allocations from “nominal” into “real” amounts. This makes budget figures from different years “equivalent” to one of the year’s current values and enable valid comparisons to be made over time. In other words, real value = nominal value adjusted for inflation. HELPFUL TIP The International Budget Partnership has developed an inflation calculator. To use it, simply enter the nominal amounts for each year and the consumer price index (CPI) for each year and calculate. See: http://openbudgetsgame.org/inflationguide/ FORMULA FOR ADJUSTING FOR INFLATION Real Value = Target year’s nominal value X base year’s consumer price index (CPI) Target year’s CPI For example, 2010 money in 2000 values would be calculated as Real Value = 2010 value X 2000 CPI 2010 CPI CASE STUDY: BUDGET MONITORING IN JORDAN In 2011, the Jordan National Centre for Human Rights (JNCHR) conducted a budget analysis, examining government allocations related on health, education and employment between 2000 and 2010. The JNCHR monitored total spending on these three areas over the course of the decade. The total expenditure on these sectors was also compared to the budgets of other Arab and European countries, as well as to non-ESCR-related expenditures. In this way, the JNCHR was able to measure whether spending on these sectors was increasing, stagnating or decreasing over time, in relation to other items in the budget and comparatively with other countries. The JNCHR also took into account relevant economic factors, such as inflation and total available resources. They concluded that while there is a lack of overall resources in Jordan, more effective spending on ESCR could be achieved. 108