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This chapter studies whether participation in conditional income transfer programmes in Latin America generates observable political responses and whether these responses indicate improvements in the political inclusion of participants. It adopts a causal mechanism approach to study political responses to transfer receipt, seeking to cast light on the links existing between transfer receipt and political outputs and outcomes among recipients. A review of available literature helps identify three possible causal mechanisms: a support for redistribution mechanism; a bureaucratic mechanism encouraging political engagement; and a cognitive change mechanism. Analysis of empirical counterparts using attitudinal data from the AmericasBarometer for the period 2010–2019 confirms the relevance of these mechanisms for our understanding of political responses of conditional income transfers recipients.

Social investment figures prominently in the recent expansion of social assistance in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This is grounded on an understanding that poverty is primarily a consequence of low productive capacity. To be effective, social assistance must be designed to support human development and economic inclusion. Relying on a new data set of social assistance in LMICs, this chapter assesses the social investment orientation of recent social assistance expansion. Classifying programs according to their design enables the development of appropriate measures of social investment globally and across regions. Their analysis throws light on correlates of social investment reforms, their political salience, and the role of legacies and institutions.

The expansion of social assistance in low‐ and middle‐income countries raises important issues for inclusive growth. Labour is by far the principal asset of low‐income groups. Changes in the quantity, quality, and allocation of labour associated with social assistance will impact on the productive capacity of low‐income groups and therefore on inclusive growth. The article re‐assesses the findings reported by impact evaluations of social assistance in low‐ and middle‐income countries to address this issue. Most studies have tested for potentially adverse labour supply incentive effects from transfers but have failed to find supportive evidence. The article highlights findings from this literature on the effects of social assistance on human capital accumulation and labour reallocation. They point to the conclusion that well‐designed and well‐implemented social assistance contributes to inclusive growth.

espanolIntroduccion. La violencia en la escuela de medicina es frecuente, pero poco estudiada en estudiantes de los primeros ciclos. Objetivo. Determinar la percepcion de violencia y estres en estudiantes del 1er ano de medicina de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), 2016. Metodos. Estudiodescriptivo transversal realizado en 133/160 (83,1%) de estudiantes matriculados en el 1er ano de la escuela de medicina de la UNMSM. Se utilizo un instrumento validado. Resultados. Algun tipo de violencia se percibio en 127 estudiantes (95,5%), como agresion verbal 91%, exclusion social 84,2%, fisica 58,6%, maltrato entre iguales 84,2%, conducta sexual maliciosa y acoso en 41,4%. El estres se reporto en 94% de los estudiantes, generalmente por la exigencia de los estudios, seguido de problemas familiares. Conclusiones. La percepcion de violencia y estres en estudiantes de primer ano de la escuela de medicina fue elevada, las causas mas frecuentes fueron la agresion verbal, exclusion social y maltrato entre iguales. EnglishIntroduction. Violence in medical school is a frequent phenomenon but little studied in students of the first cycles. Objective. To determine the perception of bullying and stress by students of the 1st year of medicine of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), 2016. Methods. Descriptive cross - sectional study carried out in 133/160 (83%) students enrolled in 1st year of medicine school at UNMSM. A validated instrument was used. Results. The students perceived some type of violence in 95,5% (127 students), like verbal aggression in 91%, social exclusion 84,2%, physical 58,6%, bullying 84,2% and, malicious sexual conduct and harassment in 41,4%. The stress was reported in 94% of students, usually due to the demands of the studies, followed by family problems. Conclusions. The perception of violence and stress by first year students of medicine school was high, the most frequent cause were the verbal aggression, social exclusion and bullying

Esping-Andersen (1990) identified three core ‘types’ of welfare regime: liberal, conservative and social democratic. Liberal welfare regimes privilege market solutions to social problems. The canonical Liberal welfare regime is characterised by a mix of residual social assistance, moderate social insurance and citizenship-based transfers. In the middle of the twentieth century welfare institutions in Latin America reflected an incipient conservative welfare regime. At the turn of the new century, large scale reforms appear to have shifted welfare institutions in the region towards a liberal welfare regime. Individual retirement accounts introduced private and market pension schemes in several countries. Rapid expansion of social assistance provision represents further movement towards a liberal welfare regime. This chapter revisits the ‘canonical’ liberal welfare regime, assesses the extent to which welfare institutions in Latin America have become ‘liberal’ and examines potential implications for theories of welfare development.

The paper considers the role of social protection in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods and in addressing the impact of the economic crisis ahead © 2020 Society for Latin American Studies

Some comparative research on the growth of social assistance in low- and middle-income countries attributes this expansion to the influence of transnational actors, particularly multilaterals. This chapter challenges this widely held view, for which a review of available comparative literature fails to find strong support. Addressing this issue is important because it raises central questions about the focus, scope and methods of comparative research on emerging welfare institutions in low- and middle-income countries. The chapter argues that a focus on institutions as opposed to policies, better data and quantitative methods, as well as a clearer conceptualization of the role of transnational actors will take us further toward theorizing emerging welfare institutions in low- and middle-income countries.

Sara Niedzwiecki’s Uneven Social Policies: The politics of Subnational variation in Latin America is a welcome study of the implementation of pro-poor social policies in Argentina and Brazil. The c...

This paper examines the factors explaining the sustained fall in poverty experienced in Kazakhstan in the period 2001–2009. It examines the contribution of economic growth and redistribution policies to poverty reduction through an analysis of household survey data. It finds that growth has been strongly pro-poor. Growth was the main driver behind the fall in poverty in the first half of the decade, but redistribution gained in importance in the latter part of the decade. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The expansion of antipoverty transfers in low- and middle-income countries focuses on poverty reduction but it also raises important questions regarding their contribution to growth and development. The paper considers the role of design and context in programme outcomes. Distinguishing three main programmes types identified, the analysis relies on insights from theory and practice to identify rural context conditions capable of enhancing or undermining programme outcomes. It finds that context conditions are important and require careful consideration by programmers.

The first experiences with conditional cash transfers (CCTs) took place in the mid-1990s in Brazil, at the local level. They were later adopted at the national level in Mexico (in 1997, with the Prospera programme), in Brazil (by 2001, with several CCTs), as well as in other Latin American countries. In 2003, the Bolsa Família programme unified previous national CCTs and massively expanded their number of beneficiaries. It managed to reach almost a quarter of the Brazilian population and became the most progressive cash transfer made by the state. Over time, numerous evaluations measured the programme’s impacts on the reduction of poverty and inequality and the improvement of education and health indicators. Domestically, these impacts, together with strong support by researchers and multilateral organizations, eventually translated this ‘good policy’ (quality design and implementation) into ‘good politics’ (political support from beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries alike, and public commitment to the programme’s maintenance by all relevant political forces). The Bolsa Família ‘model’ is now adopted in sixty-seven different countries according to the World Bank in 2017.

This working paper analyzes the role and contribution of social assistance to reducing poverty and inequality and supporting inclusive growth in Asia and the Pacific. It is based on an assessment of current trends in social assistance provision against the main policy challenges faced by developing member countries (DMCs) in the region, informed by the international experience.

What theory can help us to explain the expansion of social assistance in low and middle income countries? Prevailing theories of welfare institutions, including power resources and varieties of capitalism, were developed to study the welfare institutions that emerged among early industrialisers. The paper revisits these theories with a view to identifying elements of general applicability to the study of emerging social assistance in late industrialisers. Two hypotheses on the growth of social assistance are tested using panel data for 2000-2015 and a within-between mixed estimation model. The results suggest a general theory of welfare institutions is capable of throwing light on emergent welfare institutions in low and middle income countries, while highlighting important gaps.

The paper reports on an ex-ante evaluation of the nationwide scale up oftwo pilot cash transfer programmes in Uganda. We use panel data toestimate consumption elasticities of child health status and school enrolment.They provide the main parameters of a micro-simulation modelpredicting cash transfer effects on human capital accumulation and feedbackeffects on consumption. Quantifying year on year costs and directand indirect benefits, we track the annual trend in rates of return. Thefindings indicate important gains in child health, schooling, and incomegrowth associated with programme participation. The rates of returnimprove over the medium term but remain negative after 10 years.These findings underline the need to regard cash transfers as longertermsocial investment instead of short-term costs.

The paper examines heterogeneity in programme outcomes from Bolsa Familia, a flagship social assistance programme in Brazil reaching 14 million households. Following a review of existing evidence on mean impacts, the paper develops and estimates the first panel data quantile regression model of the distribution of Bolsa Familia outcomes across municipalities. The quantile point estimates of programme effects show no significant effects on adult labour force participation but positive and significant effects on girls’ school attendance. Girls’ attendance effects are stronger in municipalities with lowest rates in the conditional distribution of school attendance.

Economic Growth has been volatile in Pakistan; so is the case with poverty and inequality. It is a matter of great intellectual concern to know why growth has been pro-poor at some occasions of history in some specific regions while anti-poor in other areas. This paper disaggregates Poverty Equivalent Growth Rate (PEGR) at urban–rural sectors of Pakistan and across its provinces to measures growth pro-poorness in both relative and absolute terms from 2001 to 2012. Results show an overall counteracting effect of increased inequality on growth elasticity of poverty at national level but with significant regional contrast. Growth at urban level is found pro-poor (anti-poor) for all poverty measures in relative (absolute) term. This is contrary to the rural regions that experienced anti-poorness in both relative and absolute terms. Growth rate and degree of pro-poorness exhibited inverse relationship during different sub-periods. Sub-national PEGR analysis shows differential pattern of pro-poorness across regions and time. Growth proved relatively pro-poor in Balochistan and Sindh while it turned to be anti-poor in the Punjab and, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Though the relative pace of rural poverty reduction is found higher across different provinces, yet rural areas still markedly lagged behind their urban counterparts in terms of growth pro-poorness. This is suggesting relatively fewer growth gains to the rural poor across different regions of the country. A consistent doses of long term pro-poor and distributive policies through fiscal and monetary management can be a workable option to minimize the gap between the rich and the poor.

What are the main objectives of social protection institutions in developing countries? What should be their scope and reach? What is the source of their legitimacy? Finding appropriate answers to these questions is essential to understanding, and shaping, the emergence of welfare institutions in low- and middle-income countries. Most available answers rely on instrumental arguments. Few make reference to normative principles. This article draws on three concepts from Rawls – social justice as regulating cooperation, the social minimum, and the need for a freestanding political notion of social justice – to develop a coherent argument for grounding social assistance on social justice. In line with this argument, it identifies some parameters for a justice-based social assistance. This article then discusses, with examples, the tensions existing between a social justice-based social minimum and ‘real’ social assistance institutions emerging in developing countries.

This chapter examines the role that public policy initiatives—specifically anti-poverty transfers—have played in the reduction of poverty and inequality in Brazil. A number of anti-poverty initiatives are considered in turn, and not just the widely known Bolsa Familia conditional cash transfer program. The analysis establishes that such transfers—including conditional cash transfers—have proved surprisingly effective, even helping to tackle long-standing income inequality. It is recognized that explicit anti-poverty initiatives were not the only drivers of the reduced incidence of poverty and inequality: factors such as growth and improved access to labor markets also played a role. However, progress is now threatened by the recent economic and political crisis.

Las negociaciones con el grupo insurgente de las FARC invitan a dialogos, reflexiones y disertaciones en torno a los antecedentes del proceso, los cuales permiten establecer un panorama mas claro para el analisis y la comprension de lo que significa una negociacion que daria fin a un conflicto de mas de 60 anos, acercandose asi de forma compleja a esclarecer las posibles consecuencias de la negociacion y desmovilizacion del grupo insurgente en los diversos ambitos de la vida nacional. Para ello, El proceso de paz en Colombia: disertaciones alrededor de una historia, recopila diversas miradas alrededor del ambiente de paz que se gesta en Cuba y que exige retomar la historia, la economia, la politica, la Constitucion y el impacto social que generaria un posible acuerdo y posterior desmovilizacion. Analogamente, la obra construye un analisis epistemologico conducente a reconstruir las grafias en las que se han realizado anteriores procesos de paz y sus implicaciones en la colectividad, reconociendo las ausencias y vacios en las formas juridicas, politicas y sociales, asi como los aciertos y transformaciones para el desarrollo y la competitividad nacional.

The paper examines the informational basis of emerging social assistance institutions in low- and middle-income countries. The recent expansion of social assistance presents a challenge to researchers concerned with the development of welfare institutions there. Diversity in practice, the absence of data, and incipient conceptual frameworks are significant obstacles to comparative analysis. This paper proposes an informational basis for social assistance in low- and middle-income countries capable of guiding the construction of a comparative database.

Gosta Esping-Andersen's (1990)The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalismhas become one of the most cited works in social policy (over 20,600 Google Scholar citations; 20 October 2014). This path-breaking work, with its identification of three distinct forms of welfare capitalism in high income countries, has become the basis for a whole academic industry described as the Welfare Modelling Business (Abrahamson 1999; Powell and Barrientos 2011). According to Headeyet al. (1997: 332), it has become a canon in comparative social policy against which any subsequent work must situate itself. Abrahamson (1999) notes that, since the publication of the book, every welfare state scholar has referred to Esping-Andersen's tripolar scheme. Scruggs and Allen (2006: 55, 69) remark that it ‘is difficult to find an article comparing welfare states in advanced democratic countries (or a syllabus on social policy) that does not refer to this seminal work’, and ‘it is hard to overstate the significance of the impact ofThe Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism(TWWC) on comparative studies of the welfare state’. Its seminal status is evidenced by the extent to which it continues to be cited in articles on comparative welfare states. It also remains required reading for most (graduate) students of comparative political economy and social policy (Scruggs and Allen, 2008). Kröger (2011) claims that, with few exceptions, comparative social policy research is shaped by welfare regime analysis. Arts and Gelissen conclude thatTWWCis a defining influence upon the whole field of comparative welfare state research (2010: 569). Danforth (2014) writes that the ‘three worlds’ typology has become one of the principal heuristics for examining modern welfare states. In short,TWWCis a ‘modern classic’ (Arts and Gelissen, 2002).

This article assesses the methodological contribution of Esping-Andersen's Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism to welfare regime analysis. It revisits the methods deployed in the Three Worlds and assesses their influence on the practice of welfare regime researchers. It finds that welfare regime researchers have embraced the methods presented in the Three Worlds in a piecemeal fashion. Data reduction techniques, such as cluster and latent variable techniques, compete with index construction as the tools of choice for identifying clusters. Although regression analysis has been used extensively in linking welfare programme design and outcomes with welfare regimes, few researchers have followed Esping-Andersen in employing regression analysis in the context of linking policy and politics. Qualitative comparative analysis methods are increasingly employed by welfare regime researchers as an alternative. Finally, the article considers the methodological implications associated with extending welfare regime analysis globally.

Rapid population ageing and economic transformation in Asia underline the policy challenges associated with ensuring income security in old age. This article examines the potential role of social pensions in securing old-age income security in Asia. It assesses the main policy trade-offs associated with adopting alternative social pension designs, especially around two critical policy points: the comparative advantages of social assistance and social pensions; and the integration of non-contributory transfers within advanced contributory pension schemes.

Most low and middle-income countries have implemented programmes providing transfers to families in poverty, often with a focus on children. The paper examines the potential effects of social transfers in these countries on child protection outcomes: the reduction of violence, exploitation and abuse of children, family separation and improved birth registration. The analysis is based on database including information on 79 impact evaluations in 28 countries, covering 45 medium and large-scale social transfer programmes. The paper identifies and evaluates three sets of effects: direct effects observed where social transfers have explicit child protection outcome objectives; poverty-mediated effects where the impact of social transfers on poverty and exclusion leads to improved child protection outcomes; and operational synergies arising from the implementation of social transfers. An extended report of this study, including full references can be accessed at: http://www.unicef-irc.org./publications/691 .

The paper provides reliable estimates of the impact of recertification on ineligible households from Colombia's Familias en Accion, an antipoverty programme, relying on a regression discontinuity design. We find that exclusion is associated with a reversal of welfare, education attainment, and economic inclusion. The findings are unsurprising when set against expectations from theory and evidence on the impact of social transfer receipt, but have far reaching implications for the design and implementation of exit conditions. Current practice relying on the re-assessment of entry conditions to assess programme exit is shown to be counterproductive.