Social Policy in Latin America in the Post-neoliberal Era

Abstract

This chapter examines the evolution of social policy in Latin America since the mid-1980s. Given their central importance, I concentrate mainly on developments in social security policy and labor law reforms. The guiding argument is that governing coalitions define national economic strategy, which largely determines the distribution of services and access to social protection. State-directed redistribution takes place through a set of institutions encompassing the delivery of goods and services, social assistance, insurance schemes, and labor legislation, which shape the prevailing degrees of social protection. The financing and structure of universal and means-tested state social provision and of social security transfers, the rules of access and utilization of public social goods, and the nature of labor regulations are therefore crucial for the distribution of social and economic rights.