A comprehensive and sophisticated study of the relationship between social security policy and inequality in Latin America. Individual case studies of Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina, and Mexico are presented, that provide a historical analysis of each country's social security policy, the pressure groups involved, the present structure of the systems, and a statistical examination of the inequality among these pressure groups.
Empirical analysis of two decades of pioneering pension and social security reform in Latin America and the Caribbean shows that much has been achieved, but that critical challenges remain. In tackling this unfinished agenda, a great deal can be learned from the reform experience of countries in the region. 'Keeping the Promise,' produced by the chief economist's office for the Latin America and Caribbean region at the World Bank, evaluates policy reforms in 12 countries, points to successes and shortcomings, and proposes priorities and options for future reform.
Social security institutions have been among the most stable post-war social programs around the world. Increasingly, however, these institutions have undergone profound transformation from public risk-pooling systems to individual market-based designs. Why has this 'privatization' occurred? Why do some governments enact more radical pension privatizations than others? This book provides a theoretical and empirical account of when and to what degree governments privatize national old-age pension systems. Quantitative cross-national analysis simulates the degree of pension privatization around the world and tests competing hypotheses to explain reform outcomes. In addition, comparative analysis of pension reforms in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay evaluate a causal theory of institutional change. The central argument is that pension privatization emerges from political conflict, rather than from exogenous pressures. The argument is developed around three dimensions: the double bind of globalization, contingent path-dependent processes, and the legislative politics of loss imposition.
This study reviews the findings of a number of background papers on social security in Latin America, sector work, and a series of three meetings of experts that explored the major issues facing social security institutions. In Latin America, social security institutes have been competently managed for the most part and have a proven record of successfully delivering social services to their members. The central theme of this report is the great, and largely untapped, potential of social security institutions to relieve poverty in Latin America. By taking advantage of the positive characteristics of these institutions and repairing at least some of the efficiency problems, countries could achieve an enhanced level of income security for the aged, better coverage of basic health services, and wider protection from economic disasters for the whole population. A wider revenue base would accommodate an increase in coverage of the population if combined with a prudently designed benefit package. There is ample evidence from countries in the region that have experimented with such reforms that they can be made, and that they are desirable and feasible on economic grounds. Political feasibility is more difficult to assess but can be enhanced by well informed, carefully designed reforms.
But Latin America now faces economic and social challenges that are forcing policymakers to find ways to reform social security. Insufficient funding and a lack of incentive to improve quality and efficiency have compromised many programs, and today they often do not reach those who most urgently need them. Large deficits, low contribution rates, widespread tax evasion, and increasing insolvency exacerbate the problem.
The reform of social security pensions and healthcare is a key issue for the modern world, and in many ways Latin America has acted as a social laboratory for the reform of these systems. This is the first book to comprehensively study these influential reforms in Latin America's pension and health care systems.
The paper surveys the major economic, financial, and administrative issues that confront social security systems in Latin America. The larger systems have contributed substantially to public sector financial disequilibria. Expenditures of the younger systems with more limited coverage could increase dramatically as the pension plan matures, life expectancy increases, and coverage is broadened, but the narrow revenue base will force a tradeoff between broader coverage and the generosity of benefits. Most plans are pay-as-you-go, and the case for full or partial funding is not found to be compelling. The inflationary environment can have a substantial effect on the financial balance, even under full indexation.
This book explores the scope of reforms and changes in the social protection systems in Latin America that have started at the beginning of the 21st century. It describes how and to what extent changes in social protection systems and social policies have occurred in the region in recent decades. Taking a comparative approach, the volume identifies the triggers for the transformations and how such pressures are received by the welfare regime, or a specific policy sector, to finally yield a given type of reform. The analysis is characterized by the presence of certain factors that explain the development of social protection systems in Latin America, such as economic growth, the consolidation of democratic political regimes, and the region’s Left Turns. The book also examines to what extent common challenges and processes induced by international institutions have led to convergence among countries or welfare regimes, or whether each maintains its own identity.
First published in 1990, this book analyses social welfare in Latin America, at that time. For each country it considers the ideological framework underlying the social welfare system and describes the historical development of both the system and the political and socio-economic context. Each chapter looks at the structure and administration of the systems in place and how these are financed. This is followed by a consideration of the nature of different parts of the welfare system, a survey of social security, personal social services and the treatment of the following key target groups: the aged; those with disabilities and handicaps; children and youth; disadvantaged families; the unemployed; and the sick and injured. Each chapter concludes with an assessment of the effectiveness of the system considered.
Brazil has one of the most elaborate social security systems in Latin America. This study follows the progressive evolution of social insurance policy from 1889 to 1979, through four alternating periods of democratic and authoritarian governments: oligarchic democracy, organic authoritarianism, populist democracy, and bureaucratic authoritarianism.
