Labor Productivity And Social Policy In Latin America

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-104
Author(s):  
Luis Rene Caceres ◽  
Susan Caceres
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Labor Productivity

Research Insights: Can Better Infrastructure Offset the Negative Impacts That COVID-19 Has Had on Productivity in Different Economic Sectors?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hildegart Ahumada ◽  
Eduardo A. Cavallo ◽  
Santos Espina-Mairal ◽  
Fernando Navajas
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Labor Productivity ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Productivity Losses ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Indirect Impacts

The effects of COVID-19 have been stronger in service-related subsectors, where supply and/or demand were constrained by lockdowns and social distancing measures. The losses in these subsectors have had direct impacts-through their weight in countries GDP-and indirect impacts through their effect on other sectors. In Latin America, effects on the three most affected sectors-wholesale, retail, and hospitality services; construction; and manufacturing-add up to a 4.9 percent hit to economy-wide labor productivity through direct and indirect channels. Large productivity improvements in infrastructure may be needed to fully compensate for the negative productivity losses traceable to COVID-19.

Funding Social Policy at the Regional Level: The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and Social Policy in Bolivia

2016 ◽  
pp. 46-71
Author(s):  
Marcelo de Almeida Medeiros ◽  
Elia Elisa Cia Alves ◽  
Ivan Filipe Fernandes ◽  
Marcelo Eduardo Alves da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Development Bank

Has Social Policy Expansion in Latin America Reduced Welfare Decommodification and Defamilialisation? Evidence from an Overview of the Mexican Welfare Regime

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-659
Author(s):  
Ricardo Velázquez Leyer
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Welfare Regime ◽  
Regime Theory ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Design And Implementation

Mexican social policy has been transformed in recent years with the introduction and expansion of social assistance programmes, causing a diversion from the trajectory based on social insurance since the first decades of the twentieth century. This article aims to understand the outcomes of that transformation, by applying welfare regime theory to establish how social policy reforms have affected the distribution of welfare responsibilities among the state, markets and families. The research identifies (de)commodification and (de)familialisation outcomes of policy changes in pensions, healthcare, unemployment and family support. Results suggest that the expansion has not produced significant reductions in decommodification or defamilialisation because of: a) the explicit or implicit role assigned to markets in policy design and implementation, and b) the reliance of the process of economic liberalisation on the welfare role performed by families. The case of Mexico may illustrate the current welfare challenges faced by societies across Latin America.

scholarly journals From Fome Zero to Bolsa Família: Social Policies and Poverty Alleviation under Lula

2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANTHONY HALL
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Maternal Nutrition ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Bolsa Familia

Under the administrations of Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995–2002) and especially President Lula (2003–), conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes have become adopted as mainstream social policy in Brazil. This follows a marked trend since the 1990s in Latin America towards the setting up of targeted safety nets to alleviate poverty. Lula consolidated and expanded CCTs, firstly under Fome Zero and later Bolsa Família, now the largest such scheme in the world. Its four sub-programmes (educational stipends to boost school attendance, maternal nutrition, food supplements and a domestic gas subsidy) benefit some 30 million of Brazil's poorest people, with a target of 44 million by 2006. Since 2003, spending on Bolsa Família has risen significantly to consume over one-third of the social assistance budget for the poorest sectors and it remained a flagship policy in the run-up to the presidential elections of October 2006. Although coverage of Bolsa Família is impressive, however, systematic evaluation of its social and economic impacts is still lacking. Evidence from other CCT programmes in Latin America suggests that positive results may be achieved in terms of meeting some immediate needs of the poor. However, there have been many implementation problems. These include poor beneficiary targeting, lack of inter-ministerial coordination, inadequate monitoring, clientelism, weak accountability and alleged political bias. Given the heightened profile of cash transfers in Brazil's social policy agenda, key questions need to be asked. These concern, firstly, the extent to which Bolsa Família does indeed contribute to poverty alleviation; and secondly, whether it creates greater dependence of the poor on government hand-outs and political patronage at the expense of long-term social investment for development.

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