The distribution of social spending in latin america

2006 ◽  
pp. 136-160
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Spending

Latin America and China’s Transnationalizing Oil Industry: A Political Economy Assessment of New Relations

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 626-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Hogenboom
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Regional Trends ◽  
Rapid Pace ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Changing Attitudes

Chinese oil companies have recently started to set up operations in Latin America, and they are doing this at a rapid pace. This article aims to provide an overview of the increasing flows of oil and capital (fdiand credit) between Latin America and China, and to clarify how they interact with the broader Sino-Latin American relations as well as Latin America’s changing political landscape. In addition to regional trends, the cases of Venezuela, Brazil and Ecuador are discussed. The article combines an assessment of factual data with an analysis of the broader political economy context in which these new oil relations operate. Next to national differences, three general tendencies stand out: first, the type of arrangements and coordinated activities that Chinese companies, banks and government agencies deploy differ from those of other large oil-seeking nations; second, while the arrival of Chinese capital is welcomed by Latin American governments and pictured as part of non-imperialist South-South relations, Chinese oil companies and loans are sometimes criticized in local media by scholars, opposition andngos; and third, Chinese oil imports and investments have added to changing attitudes and policies towards strategic sectors under new political regimes, which allows for more social spending but which critics have labeled as the return to an ‘extractivist model.’

Organized Labor Strikes and Social Spending in Latin America: The Synchronizing Effect of Mass Protest

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-109
Author(s):  
Dongkyu Kim ◽  
Mi-son Kim ◽  
Cesar Villegas
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Welfare Spending ◽  
Labor Strikes ◽  
Capital Spending ◽  
Alternative Measures ◽  
Mass Protest

ABSTRACTThe theories and evidence about relationships between democracy and social spending in Latin America are highly contested. A recent study shows that collective protest by organized labor effectively increases social security and welfare spending, whereas mass protest does not have comparable effects on human capital spending in Latin American democracies. This article reexamines the analysis and demonstrates that organized labor alone cannot sway democratic governments. Labor strikes require the synchronizing effect of mass protest to obtain government concessions. Only through concurrent episodes of mass protest can organized labor overcome the numerical disadvantage of pressing democratic government for social welfare spending. In understanding the relationship between labor protests and social welfare spending through the lens of insider-outsider dichotomy, it is critical to consider the synchronizing effect of mass protests. The findings remain robust with alternative measures of democracy and various model specifications.

scholarly journals Latin America's Social Policy Challenge: Education, Social Insurance, Redistribution

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Levy ◽  
Norbert Schady
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
High Inflation ◽  
Major Transformation ◽  
Policy Challenge ◽  
Challenge Education

Long regarded as a region beset by macroeconomic instability, high inflation, and excessive poverty and inequality, Latin America has undergone a major transformation over the last 20 years. The region has seen improved macroeconomic management and substantial and sustained reductions in poverty and inequality. In this paper, we argue that social policy, including human capital and education, social insurance, and redistribution, need special attention if achievements of the last two decades are to be sustained and amplified. Starting in the mid 1990s, many governments in the region introduced a variety of programs, including noncontributory pensions and health insurance, and cash transfers targeted to the poor. Social spending in Latin America increased sharply. These policies have been widely praised, and we believe they have resulted in substantial improvements in the lives of the poor in the region. However, a more nuanced view shows some worrisome trends. Moving forward, we believe it is necessary to pay much closer attention to the quality of services, particularly in education; to the incentives generated by the interplay of some programs, particularly in the labor market; to a more balanced intertemporal distribution of benefits, particularly between young and old; and to sustainable sources of finance, particularly to the link between contributions and benefits.

scholarly journals Diminished Expectations

2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisha C. Holland
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Original Survey

In Latin America, the relationship between income and support for redistribution is weak and variable despite the region's extreme income inequality. This article shows that this condition is rooted in the truncated structure of many Latin American welfare states. Heavy spending on contributory social insurance for formal-sector workers, flat or regressive subsidies, and informal access barriers mean that social spending does far less for the poor in Latin America than it does in advanced industrial economies. Using public opinion data from across Latin America and original survey data from Colombia, the author demonstrates that income is less predictive of attitudes in the countries and social policy areas in which the poor gain less from social expenditures. Social policy exclusion leads the poor to doubt that they will benefit from redistribution, thereby dampening their support for it. The article reverses an assumption in political economy models that welfare exclusion unleashes demands for greater redistribution. Instead, truncation reinforces skepticism about social policy helping the poor. Welfare state reforms to promote social inclusion are essential to strengthen redistributive coalitions.

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