Social Protection in Latin America - Lecture with Armando Barrientos

Social protection is an essential component of public policy. Its successes or failures have direct implications for social welfare, especially among disadvantaged groups. Unlike other institutions, the evolution of social protection reflects advances or regressions in social justice. This lecture discusses social protection in Latin America, its current institutions and their outcomes. At several points in the last century, Latin American countries have pioneered innovations in social protection, most recently with conditional income transfers. Yet social protection institutions in the region remain highly unequal. The lecture launches a new book offering an explanation for this apparent contradiction.