Welfare State Development, Individual Deprivations and Income Inequality: A Cross-Country Analysis in Latin America and the Caribbean

Cruz‐Martínez, Gibrán

doi:10.1007/s11205-016-1465-4

Cited by 12 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…During the last three decades, a significant group of scholars has been examining the historical experience and development of Latin American welfare systems and welfare regimes. The welfare systems in Latin America and the Caribbean has been grouped as emerging welfare states (Huber & Stephens, 2012), welfare states in development (Cruz-Martinez, 2017b, 2017d, institutional-redistributive welfare states (Sanchez de Dios, 2015), welfare states in transition (Esping-Andersen, 1996), and developmental welfare states in the making (Riesco, 2009), meaning that their welfare programmes and institutions are not yet as developed/institutionalised as their counterparts in Europe. However, these broad classifications do not show the different worlds of welfare across the Latin American region.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Bottom-up picture of intra-national welfare regimes: the case of marginalised communities in Puerto Rico

Cruz‐Martínez

2020

J. int. comp. soc. policy

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The main purpose of this article is twofold: (1) an examination of welfare regimes using a bottom-up approach, which enables a comprehensive analysis of welfare production based on recipients perceptions; and (2) an examination of more than one type of welfare-mix coexisting inside the national level across policy sectors. A classification of welfare regimes is carried out following a bottom-up approach and relying on the basis of the importance of welfare providers to satisfy social risks and promote well-being. Three traditional (e.g. state, market, family) and one alternative welfare providers (e.g. community) are considered. Data is collected through twenty semi-structured interviews in seven marginalised communities of Puerto Rico. The results show five configurations of intra-national welfare-mixes across the following welfare areas: housing, nourishment, health, education, maternity/paternity, disability, work-unemployment and older-age. This paper contributes to the theoretical proposals of intra-national welfare regimes, and alternatives providers in the welfare-mix.

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Bottom-up picture of intra-national welfare regimes: the case of marginalised communities in Puerto Rico

Cruz‐Martínez

2020

J. int. comp. soc. policy

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“…Outside OECD states, one finds regions with emerging welfare states, such as Latin America and East Asia (Cruz-Martínez, 2017a, 2017bGoodman, White, & Kwon, 1998;Huber & Niedzwiecki, 2015;Kwon, Mkandawire, & Palme, 2009). However, large segments of the populations living in low-and middle-income countries remain without access to social protection as an entitled citizen right.…”

Section: Universal Targeting Approach and Life-cycle Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Older‐Age Social Pensions and Poverty: Revisiting Assumptions on Targeting and Universalism

Cruz‐Martínez

2019

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Whether social protection benefits should be assigned to all (universal) or kept only for those who meet specific criteria (targeting) remains one of the most contentious questions in social policy research. The purpose of this article is to revisit three assumptions on the two main social policy options for the provision of social benefits to older persons. Each assumption is assessed through counterfactual reasoning using a combination of literature review and statistical analysis with a global perspective. The study finds that (i) 79 countries would be economically able to shift from targeted noncontributory pensions to basic universal noncontributory pensions with less than 1.2 percent of the respective national gross domestic products; (ii) 16 countries have means-tested/region-tested noncontributory pensions more expensive than a hypothetical basic universal social pension; (iii) an arbitrary threshold of "economic development" is not a limitation for implementing social pensions; and (iv) at least 17 countries with relatively low economic development have successfully implemented social pensions without means targeting. Therefore, contrary to what several international organizations and scholars have argued, universal social pensions are politically and economically viable and efficient strategies to alleviate income poverty.KEY WORDS: social protection, social policy, development, social assistance, cash transfersLa pregunta de si los beneficios de la protección social deben asignarse a todos (universales) o solo para aquellos que cumplen con criterios específicos (focalización) sigue siendo una de las más polémicas en la investigación de políticas sociales. El propósito de este documento es revisar tres supuestos sobre las dos opciones principales de política social para la provisión de beneficios sociales para las personas mayores. Cada suposición se evalúa mediante un razonamiento contrafactual utilizando una combinación de revisión de la literatura y análisis estadístico con una perspectiva global. El estudio concluye que (1) 79 países podrían cambiar económicamente de pensiones no contributivas específicas a pensiones universales básicas no contributivas con menos del 1,2 por ciento de los respectivos PIB nacionales; (2) 16 países tienen pensiones no contributivas probadas por medios / regionales, más caras que una pensión universal básica hipotética; (3) Un umbral arbitrario de "desarrollo económico" no es una limitación para implementar las pensiones sociales. (4) Al menos, 17 países con un desarrollo económico relativamente bajo han implementado con éxito pensiones sociales sin focalización de recursos. Por lo tanto, contrariamente a lo que han argumentado varias organizaciones internacionales y académicos, las pensiones sociales universales son estrategias viables y eficientes política y económicamente para aliviar la pobreza de ingresos.

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“…This does not mean that inequality has not been reduced; several studies confirm the reduction of inequality in the still most unequal region in the world (Lustig and McLeod, 2011;Soares et al, 2007;Tsounta and Osueke, 2014). However, what Cruz-Martinez (2017c) finds is that changes in the levels of social expenditure, coverage and outcomes of the welfare state do not explain the reductions in income inequality. One explanation for this result might be the existence of a dual social protection system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…We can measure the degree of welfare state development in the region by taking into account multiple dimensions of the welfare state. The Multidimensional Welfare Index (MWI) combines indicators from three different dimensions (i.e., social spending, coverage of welfare programmes and outcomes of welfare institutions) to operationalise the welfare state development in 17 Latin American countries during the 1940s-1970s (Cruz-Martinez, 2014 and 2000(Cruz-Martinez, 2017c Welfare state development in the twenty-first century seems to be an effective way of tackling individual income and capabilities deprivations in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, welfare state development does not appear to be effective for reducing income inequality in the region (Cruz-Martinez, 2017c).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Multidimensional Welfare Index (MWI) combines indicators from three different dimensions (i.e., social spending, coverage of welfare programmes and outcomes of welfare institutions) to operationalise the welfare state development in 17 Latin American countries during the 1940s-1970s (Cruz-Martinez, 2014 and 2000(Cruz-Martinez, 2017c Welfare state development in the twenty-first century seems to be an effective way of tackling individual income and capabilities deprivations in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, welfare state development does not appear to be effective for reducing income inequality in the region (Cruz-Martinez, 2017c). This does not mean that inequality has not been reduced; several studies confirm the reduction of inequality in the still most unequal region in the world (Lustig and McLeod, 2011;Soares et al, 2007;Tsounta and Osueke, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative social policy in contemporary Latin America: Concepts, theories and a research agenda

Cruz‐Martínez¹

2019

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This is the introductory chapter of the book Welfare and Social Protection in Contemporary Latin America. The purpose of the book is threefold: (i) to present a historical and theoretical analysis of social protection systems and welfare regimes in contemporary Latin America; (ii) to discuss the politics of contemporary social protection and how national/global actors and institutions shape social policy in the region; and (iii) to examine several debates on social protection and welfare systems in contemporary Latin America. The chapter presents state-of-the-art research in the areas of social policy and welfare that is examined in each of the three parts of the book. What do we know about welfare regimes in Latin America? What do we know about the role of (f)actors shaping social protection development and inclusion? What do we know about recent debates regarding social protection and welfare in Latin America? Particular attention is paid to the contribution made by chapters in this edited volume to the social policy literature. The chapter finishes with a description of the content and results of each chapter in this edited volume.

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Welfare State Development, Individual Deprivations and Income Inequality: A Cross-Country Analysis in Latin America and the Caribbean

Cited by 12 publications

References 37 publications

A Bottom-up picture of intra-national welfare regimes: the case of marginalised communities in Puerto Rico

A Bottom-up picture of intra-national welfare regimes: the case of marginalised communities in Puerto Rico

Older‐Age Social Pensions and Poverty: Revisiting Assumptions on Targeting and Universalism

Comparative social policy in contemporary Latin America: Concepts, theories and a research agenda

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