THE QUEST FOR A NEW WELFARE SAFETY NET IN LATIN AMERICA

• Main Author: Clemente Ruiz Duran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2013-12-01
• Series: Cadernos Prolam/USP
• Subjects: América Latina; Política Social.
• Online Access: http://www.revistas.usp.br/prolam/article/view/83009

In two decades, a process of democratization occurred in Latin America, leading to new public policies that have helped reduce inequality and poverty. Government programs had been set up for that purpose, in a first stage through conditional cash transfer programs, and in a second stage through income policies to wage adjustment. Not all the countries followed these policies, therefore, the paper explores in a counterfactual analysis, the trends that have emerged from these reforms and how they have reshaped the welfare systems of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.