Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T16:56:43.193Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Easy and Hard Redistribution: The Political Economy of Welfare States in Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

Alisha C. Holland  and
Ben Ross Schneider
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Comparative research on Latin American welfare states recently has focused on the extension of non-contributory benefits to those outside the formal labor market. This extension of benefits constitutes a major break from past exclusionary welfare regimes. Yet there also are substantial areas of continuity, especially in the contributory social-insurance system that absorbs most of welfare budgets. We develop here a framework for studying changes in Latin American welfare states that reconciles these trends. We argue that Latin American governments enjoyed an “easy” stage of welfare expansions in the 2000s, characterized by distinct political coalitions. Bottom-targeted benefits could be layered on top of existing programs and provided to wide segments of the population. But many Latin American governments are nearing the exhaustion of this social-policy model. We explore policy and coalitional challenges that hinder moves to “hard” redistribution with case studies of unemployment insurance in Chile and housing in Colombia.

Type
Special Section: Problems of the State in the Developing World
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , December 2017 , pp. 988 - 1006
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amarante, Verónica, Manacorda, Marco, Vigorito, Andrea, and Zerpa, Mariana. 2011. “Social Assistance and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Uruguayan PANES.” Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
Aterido, Reyes, Hallward-Driemeier, Mary, and Pagés, Carmen. 2011. “Does Expanding Health Insurance beyond Formal-Sector Workers Encourage Informality? Measuring the Impact of Mexico’s Seguro Popular.” Policy Research Working Paper Series. No. 5785. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Baker, Andy and Ximena Velasco Guachalla, Vania. 2016. “Is the Informal Sector Politically Different? Answers from Latin America.” Working Paper. American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.Google Scholar
Barrientos, Armando. 2009. “Labour Markets and the (hyphenated) Welfare Regime in Latin America.” Economy and Society 38(1): 87–108.Google Scholar
Berens, Sarah. 2015. “Between Exclusion and Solidarity? Preferences for Private versus Public Welfare Provision and the Size of the Informal Sector.” Socio-Economic Review 13(4): 651–78.Google Scholar
Berstein, Solange, Fajnzylber, Eduardo, and Gana, Pamela. 2012. “The New Chilean Unemployment Insurance System: Combining Individual Accounts and Redistribution in an Emerging Economy.” In Reforming Severance Pay, ed. Holzmann, Robert and Vodopivec, Milan. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Bouillon, César Patricio. 2012. Room for Development: Housing Markets in Latin America and the Caribbean. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brinks, Daniel M. and Forbath, William. 2014. “The Role of Courts and Constitutions in the New Politics of Welfare in Latin America.” In Law and Development of Middle-Income Countries: Avoiding the Middle-Income Trap, ed. Peerenboom, R. and Ginsburg, Tom. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Brooks, Sarah M. 2015. “Social Protection for the Poorest: The Adoption of Antipoverty Cash Transfer Programs in the Global South.” Politics & Society 43(4): 551–82.Google Scholar
Bruns, Barbara and Schneider, Ben Ross. 2016. “Managing the Politics of Quality Reforms in Education: Policy Lessons from Global Experience.” Paper commissioned for the United Nations Commission on Financing Education.Google Scholar
Camargo, José Márcio. 2009. “Desemprego, Informalidade e Rotatividade–Reformas que Fazem Diferença.” In Brasil pós-crise, ed. Giambiagi, Fabio and Barros, Octavio de. Rio de Janeiro: Campus.Google Scholar
Carnes, Matthew. 2014. Continuity Despite Change: The Politics of Labor Regulation in Latin America. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Carnes, Matthew and Mares, Isabela. 2014. “Coalitional Realignment and the Adoption of Non-Contributory Social Insurance Programs in Latin America.” Socio-Economic Review 12(4): 695–722.Google Scholar
Carnes, Matthew and Mares, Isabela. 2015. “Explaining the ‘Return of the State’ in Middle-Income Countries: Employment Vulnerability, Income, and Preferences for Social Protection in Latin America.” Politics & Society 43(4): 525–50.Google Scholar
Chahad, José Paulo. 2009. “Flexibilidade do mercado de trabalho, proteçao aos trabalhadores e treinamento vocacional de força de trabalho.” CEPAL Project Documents LC/W 246. Santiago, Chile: CEPAL.Google Scholar
Cook, Maria Lorena. 2007. The Politics of Labor Reform in Latin America: Between Flexibility and Rights. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Corbacho, Ana, Fretes Cibils, Vicente, and Lora, Eduardo. 2013. More than Revenue: Taxation as a Development Tool. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Cord, Louise, Lucchetti, Leonardo, Rodríguez-Castelán, Carlos, and Valderrama, Daniel. 2014. “Inequality Stagnation in Latin America in the Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7146.Google Scholar
Corrales, Javier. 1999. “The Politics Education Reform: Bolstering the Supply and Demand Overcoming Institutional Blocks.” Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Corrales, Javier. 2005. “The State Is Not Enough: The Politics of Expanding and Improving Schooling in Developing Countries.” American Academy of Arts and Sciences: 1–58.Google Scholar
Corrêa, Diego Sanchez. 2015. “Conditional Cash Transfer Programs, the Economy, and Presidential Elections in Latin America.” Latin American Research Review 50(2): 42–62.Google Scholar
Diaz-Cayeros, Alberto and Magaloni, Beatriz. 2009. “Aiding Latin America’s Poor.” Journal of Democracy 20(4): 36–48.Google Scholar
Diaz-Cayeros, Alberto, Estévez, Federico, and Magaloni, Beatriz. 2016. The Political Logic of Poverty Relief. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
DNP. 2007. Estado Comunitario: Desarrollo Para Todos. Bogotá, Colombia: Gaceta del Congreso, Departamento Nacional de Planeación.Google Scholar
Doner, Richard and Schneider, Ben Ross. 2016. “The Middle-Income Trap: More Politics than Economics.” World Politics 68(4): 608–44.Google Scholar
Emmenegger, Patrick, Häusermann, Silja, Palier, Bruno, and Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin. 2012. The Age of Dualization: The Changing Face of Inequality in Deindustrializing Societies. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, Gosta. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Failache, Elisa, Giaccobasso, Matia, and Ramírez, Lucia. 2016. Transferencias de ingresos y mercado de trabajo: El impacto de asignaciones familiares Plan de Equidad sobre la informalidad laboral. Instituto de Economía-IECON Working Paper 16–01.Google Scholar
Fairfield, Tasha. 2015. Private Wealth and Public Revenue. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Fairfield, Tasha and Garay, Candelaria. 2017. “Redistribution Under the Right in Latin America Electoral Competition and Organized Actors in Policymaking.” Comparative Political Studies. DOI: 0010414017695331.Google Scholar
Filgueira, Fernando. 2005. “Welfare and Democracy in Latin America: The Development, Crises and Aftermath of Universal, Dual and Exclusionary Social States.” Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.Google Scholar
Freeman, Richard B. 2009. “Labor Regulations, Unions, and Social Protection in Developing Countries: Market Distortions or Efficient Institutions?” NBER Working Paper 14789.Google Scholar
Fritz, Barbara and Lavinas, Lena. 2016. A Moment of Equality for Latin America? Challenges for Redistribution. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Frölich, Markus, Kaplan, David, Pagés, Carmen, Rigolini, Jamele, and Robalino, David. 2014. Social Insurance, Informality, and Labour Markets: How to Protect Workers while Creating Good Jobs. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Garay, Candelaria. 2016. Social Policy Expansion in Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gasparini, Leonardo, Haimovich, Francisco, and Olivieri, Sergio. 2007. “Labor Informality Effects of a Poverty-Alleviation Program.” Documentos de Trabajo del CEDLAS. Working Paper No. 53.Google Scholar
Gaviria, Alejandro and Tovar, Jorge. 2011. El potencial de la política de vivienda en Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia: Universidad de los Andes.Google Scholar
Grindle, Merilee Serrill. 2004. Despite the Odds: The Contentious Politics of Education Reform. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Haggard, Stephan and Kaufman, Robert R.. 2008. Development, Democracy, and Welfare States: Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Häusermann, Silja. 2010. The Politics of Welfare State Reform in Continental Europe: Modernization in Hard Times. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hirschman, Albert. 1968. “The Political Economy of Import-Substituting Industrialization.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 82(1): 1–32.Google Scholar
Hirschman, Albert. 1971. A Bias for Hope: Essays on Development and Latin America. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Holland, Alisha C. 2017. Forbearance as Redistribution: The Politics of Informal Welfare in Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Holzmann, Robert and Vodopivec, Milan. 2012. Reforming Severance Pay. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Huber, Evelyne and Stephens, John D.. 2001. Development and Crisis of the Welfare State: Parties and Policies in Global Markets. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Huber, Evelyne and Stephens, John D.. 2012. Democracy and the Left: Social Policy and Inequality in Latin America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Hunter, Wendy and Brill, Robert. 2016. “Documents, Please.” World Politics 68(2): 191–228.Google Scholar
Hunter, Wendy and Sugiyama, Natasha Borges. 2009. “Democracy and Social Policy in Brazil: Advancing Basic Needs, Preserving Privileged Interests.” Latin American Politics and Society 51(2): 29–58.Google Scholar
ILO. 2009. “World of Work Report: The Global Jobs Crisis and Beyond.” Geneva: International Labour Organization.Google Scholar
Imai, Kosuke, King, Gary, and Rivera, Carlos Velasco. 2016. “Do Nonpartisan Programmatic Policies Have Partisan Electoral Effects? Evidence from Two Large Scale Randomized Experiments.” Working Paper. Harvard University and Princeton University.Google Scholar
Iversen, Torben and Soskice, David. 2015. “Democratic Limits to Redistribution: Inclusionary versus Exclusionary Coalitions in the Knowledge Economy.” World Politics 67(2): 185–225.Google Scholar
Kaufman, Robert and Nelson, Joan. 2004. “The Politics of Education Sector Reform: Cross-National Comparisons.” In Crucial Needs, Weak Incentives, ed. Kaufman, Robert and Nelson, Joan. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Kurtz, Marcus J. 2002. “Understanding the Third World Welfare State after Neoliberalism.” Comparative Politics 34(3): 293–313.Google Scholar
Kurtz, Marcus J. 2004. “The Dilemmas of Democracy in the Open Economy: Lessons from Latin America.” World Politics 56(2): 262–302.Google Scholar
De La O Torres, Ana. 2015. Crafting Policies to End Poverty in Latin America: The Quiet Transformation. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP). 2014. Americas Barometer. Available at www.LapopSurveys.org.Google Scholar
Larrañaga, Osvaldo and Rodríguez, María. 2014. “Clases medias y educación en América Latina.” In Cómo Avanzar Más Allá Del Ingreso Medio, ed. Foxley, Alejandro and Stallings, Barbara. Santiago: Cieplan.Google Scholar
Lavinas, Lena. 2013. “21st Century Welfare.” New Left Review 84: 5–40.Google Scholar
Levitsky, Steven and Roberts, Kenneth. 2011. “Latin America’s ‘Left Turn.’” In The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, ed. Levitsky, Steven and Roberts, Kenneth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Levy, Santiago. 2008. Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes: Social Policy, Informality, and Economic Growth in Mexico. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Levy, Santiago and Schady, Norbert. 2013. “Latin America’s Social Policy Challenge: Education, Social Insurance, Redistribution.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 27(2): 193–218.Google Scholar
Lindert, Kathy, Skoufias, Emmanuel, and Shapiro, Joseph. 2006. Redistributing Income to the Poor and the Rich: Public Transfers in Latin America and the Caribbean. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Lo-Vuolo, Ruben, ed. 2013. “Introduction.” In Citizen’s Income and Welfare Regimes in Latin America.. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Lowi, Theodore J. 1964. “American Business, Public Policy, Case-Studies, and Political Theory.” World Politics 16(4): 677–715.Google Scholar
Lustig, Nora, Pessino, Carola, and Scott, John. 2014. “The Impact of Taxes and Social Spending on Inequality and Poverty in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay.” Public Finance Review 42(3): 287–303.Google Scholar
Mahon, James, Bergman, Marcelo, and Arnson, Cynthia, eds. 2015. “Introduction.” In Progressive Tax Reform and Equality in Latin America. Washington, DC: Wilson Center.Google Scholar
Mares, Isabela. 2003. The Politics of Social Risk: Business and Welfare State Development. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mares, Isabela. 2005. “Social Protection Around the World: External Insecurity, State Capacity, and Domestic Political Cleavages.” Comparative Political Studies 38(6): 623–51.Google Scholar
Mares, Isabela and Carnes, Matthew. 2009. “Social Policy in Developing Countries.” Annual Review of Political Science 12: 93–113.Google Scholar
Martínez Franzoni, Juliana and Sánchez-Ancochea, Diego. 2016. The Quest for Universal Social Policy in the South: Actors, Ideas, and Architectures. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Medici, André. 2011. “Propostas para melhorar a cobertura, a eficiência e a qualidade no setor saúde.” In Brasil: a nova agenda social, ed. Schwartzman, Simon and Bacha., E. Rio de Janeiro: Instituto de Estudos de Política Econômica.Google Scholar
Mesa-Lago, Carmelo. 1978. Social Security in Latin America: Pressure Groups, Stratification, and Inequality. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Ministerio, de Vivienda, Territorio, Ciudad y. 2014. Colombia: Cien años de políticas habitacionales. Bogotá: MVCT.Google Scholar
Moene, Karl Ove and Wallerstein, Michael. 2001. “Inequality, Social Insurance, and Redistribution.” American Political Science Review 95(4): 859–74.Google Scholar
Murillo, Maria Victoria. 2001. Labor Unions, Partisan Coalitions, and Market Reforms in Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Niedzwiecki, Sara. 2014. “The Effect of Unions and Organized Civil Society on Social Policy: Pension and Health Reforms in Argentina and Brazil, 1988–2008.” Latin American Politics and Society 56(4): 22–48.Google Scholar
OECD. 2014. Pensions at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
O’Donnell, Guillermo. 1973. Modernization and Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism: Studies in South American Politics. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Pagés, Carmen and Stampini, Marco. 2007. “No Education, No Good Jobs? Evidence on the Relationship between Education and Labor Market Segmentation.” Inter-American Development Bank Working Paper No. 627.Google Scholar
Pagés, Carmen, Pierre, Gaëlle Le Borgne, and Scarpetta, Stefano. 2009. Job Creation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent Trends and Policy Challenges. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.Google Scholar
Palier, Bruno and Thelen, Kathleen. 2010. “Institutionalizing Dualism: Complementarities and Change in France and Germany.” Politics & Society 38(1): 119–48.Google Scholar
Perry, Guillermo. 2007. Informality: Exit and Exclusion. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.Google Scholar
Persson, Anna and Rothstein, Bo. 2015. “It’s My Money: Why Big Government May Be Good Government.” Comparative Politics 47(2): 231–49.Google Scholar
Pribble, Jennifer. 2010. “Worlds Apart: Social Policy Regimes in Latin America.” Studies in Comparative International Development 46(2): 191–216.Google Scholar
Pribble, Jennifer. 2013. Welfare and Party Politics in Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Prillaman, Soledad Artiz. 2017. “The Micro-Foundations of Non-Contributory Social Policy in Latin America.” In Social Policies and Decentralization in Cuba: Change in the Contest of 21st Century Latin America, ed. Domínguez, Jorge I., Arg̈uelles, María del Carmen Zabala, Prieto, Mayra Espina, and Barberia, Lorena. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Reyes, Hartley, Gonzalo, Jan C. Van Ours, and Vodopivec, Milan. 2010. “Incentive Effects of Unemployment Insurance Savings Accounts: Evidence from Chile.” IZA Discussion Paper No. 4681.Google Scholar
Ribe, Helena, Robalino, David, and Walker, Ian. 2012. From Right to Reality: Incentives, Labor Markets, and the Challenge of Universal Social Protection in Latin America and the Caribbean. Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Roberts, Kenneth. 2002. “Social Inequalities without Class Cleavages in Latin America’s Neoliberal Era.” Studies in Comparative International Development 36(4): 3–33.Google Scholar
Rueda, David. 2005. “Insider-Outsider Politics in Industrialized Democracies: The Challenge to Social Democratic Parties.” American Journal of Political SciencePolitical Science 99(1): 61–74.Google Scholar
Schneider, Ben Ross. 2013. Hierarchical Capitalism in Latin America: Business, Labor, and the Challenges of Equitable Development. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schneider, Ben Ross and Karcher, Sebastian. 2010. “Complementarities and Continuities in the Political Economy of Labour Markets in Latin America.” Socio-Economic Review 8(4): 623–51.Google Scholar
Segura-Ubiergo, Alex. 2007. The Political Economy of the Welfare State in Latin America: Globalization, Democracy, and Development. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sehnbruch, Kirsten. 2006. The Chilean Labor Market: A Key to Understanding Latin American Labor Markets. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Silva, Consuelo. 2007. La subcontratación en Chile: Aproximación sectoral. Santiago, Chile: Consejo Asesor Presidencial, Trabajo y Equidad.Google Scholar
Solt, Frederick. 2014. “The Standardized World Income Inequality Database.” SWIID Version 5.0, October.Google Scholar
Szalachman, Raquel and Collinao, María Paz. 2010. Estimaciones de gasto social en vivienda y desarrollo urbano para algunos países de América Latina y el Caribe. Santiago: CEPAL.Google Scholar
Wang, Chen and Caminada, Koen. 2011. “Disentangling Income Inequality and Social Transfers and Taxes in 36 LIS Countries.” LIS Working Paper Series No. 567.Google Scholar
Weyland, Kurt. 1996. Democracy without Equity: Failures of Reform in Brazil. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Wibbels, Erik. 2013. Development, Trade and Social Insurance. Unpublished book manuscript, Duke University.Google Scholar
Wibbels, Erik and Ahlquist, John S.. 2011. “Development, Trade, and Social Insurance.” International Studies Quarterly 55(1): 125–49.Google Scholar
Wietzke, Frank-Borge. 2016. “Kicking Away the Ladder? Poverty Reduction and Public Support for Redistribution in Emerging Economies.” Socio-Economic Review 14(3): 419–42.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2012. Mexico’s System for Social Protection in Health and the Formal Sector. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Zarate, Barbara. 2014. “Social Spending Responses to Organized Labor and Mass Protests in Latin America, 1970–2007.” Comparative Political Studies 47(14): 1945–72.Google Scholar
Zucco, Cesar. 2013. “When Payouts Pay Off: Conditional Cash Transfers and Voting Behavior in Brazil 2002–10.” American Journal of Political Science 57(4): 810–22.Google Scholar
Zucco, Cesar. 2015. The Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfers in Four Presidential Elections (2002–2014). Brazilian Political Science Review 9(1): 135–149.Google Scholar
Zucco, Cesar, Luna, Juan Pablo, and Baykal, Gokce Ozgen. 2016. “Do Conditionalities Increase Support for Government Transfers?” Working paper available at SSRN http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2807030.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Holland and Schneider supplementary material

Holland and Schneider supplementary material 1

Download Holland and Schneider supplementary material(File)
File 19.4 KB