Argentina : Income Support Policies toward the Bicentennial

Argentina approaches its bicentennial as an independent republic; it has a window of opportunity in social protection policy. Following the most serious economic crisis in its history during 2001-02, the country mobilized an unprecedented effort to provide income support to the population in need. Now, as growth has returned and social indicators have recovered to pre-crisis levels, there is an opening to move from emergency income support programs to a more comprehensive, long-term, and sustainable strategy for social protection. The emergency response was effective, as it helped the country to overcome the worst of the crisis. The centerpiece of the strategy, plan Jefes y Jefas, provided benefits to nearly two million households during a period when poverty affected more than half the population and unemployment reached record levels. The number of beneficiaries slowly declined beginning in 2003, and was at nearly one-third of its maximum value by early 2008. This reduction was achieved by the reentry of beneficiaries into the formal labor market, the loss of eligibility, and the shift of beneficiaries to familias and seguro de capacitacion y empleo (Seguro), the successor programs to Jefes. Now that the crisis has passed, the policy debate has shifted toward the future of social protection over the longer term. The improvement in overall economic conditions since 2003 has resulted in a decline in unemployment, poverty, and inequality, and a recovery of formal employment and real salaries to pre-crisis levels. These positive trends have generated opportunities to consider longer-term and structural issues, including a debate over the future of whether this new type of noncontributory social policies, based on income transfers to households and individuals, should continue.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	World Bank
Format:	Publication biblioteca
Language:	en_US
Published:	Washington, DC 2009
Subjects:	access to employment, access to health care, accounting, administrative costs, Baseline Data, Beneficiaries, Cash Transfer Programs, cash transfers, Child allowances, child care, childbirth, citizens, civil servants, collective bargaining, combat poverty, commodity prices, community development, community services, conditionalities, conditionality, consumption smoothing, coverage of population, crowding out, cycle of poverty, debt, debt service, delivery of services, Descriptive Statistics, development policies, disability, dissemination, economic conditions, economic crises, economic cycle, economic downturns, economic growth, Economic policy, economic recovery, economies of scale, Elderly, employment opportunities, Employment Programs, Family Allowances, family benefits, federal budget, Federal spending, financial resources, financial support, fiscal pressure, fiscal side, fiscal sustainability, foreign direct investment, GDP, general revenues, general taxation, Gini coefficient, government agencies, government expenditure, growth model, health care, health clinics, Health insurance, health services, household size, human capital, Human Development, income distribution, Income inequality, Income Support, Income Support Programs, Income Transfer Program, Income Transfers, indicator targeting, Inequality, Inflation, Information systems, innovations, insurance schemes, interventions, job training, labor market, labor markets, legal status, living conditions, local community, local currency, Marginal cost, market incentives, Ministry of Economy, municipal authorities, municipal governments, municipal level, national agencies, National Council, national government, national income, national level, national strategy, negative incentives, number of people, nutrition, old age, old-age, opinion leaders, opportunity cost, opportunity costs, pension reform, pension scheme, pension systems, pensions, Per Capita Income, perfect targeting, policy goals, Policy Impacts, policy makers, policy response, political economy, Poor, population groups, poverty alleviation, Poverty rates, practitioners, Price subsidies, private sector, Program Design, program implementation, programs, Provincial governments, Provincial Level, provincial levels, Public Expenditure, Public Expenditures, Public Revenues, public sector, public spending, purchasing power, quality of services, respect, retirement, safety, safety net, School Attendance, sector policies, Simulations, social assistance, social consequences, Social Development, social development goals, social indicators, social insurance, social insurance programs, social policies, Social policy, Social Programs, Social Protection, Social Protection Sector, Social Sectors, Social security, social security coverage, social security programs, social security system, Social Spending, structural reforms, targeting, trade unions, training opportunities, Transfer Programs, Unemployed, Unemployment, unemployment benefits, unemployment rate, Urban Population, vicious cycle, vulnerability, vulnerable groups, vulnerable populations, wage distribution, wage increases, wages, war, Wars, welfare indicators, welfare state, workfare programs,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13531
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