Rossana Castiglioni

Democratic Quality and Human Development in Latin America: 1972–2001

Interest in the study of human development ~HD! has gained prominence in the past fifteen to twenty years. Part of this interest has been motivated by the realization that economic growth has not always translated into better living conditions for the citizens of developing countries. This is particularly true for Latin America in the 1990s, a region that has been plagued by what Fajnzylber ~1990! calls the “empty-box syndrome.” The publication of the first Human Development Report in 1990, by the United Nations Development Programme ~UNDP!, gave prominence to such concerns. In fact, these reports have fueled a growing debate around how to conceptualize and measure human development ~for an extensive analysis of the conceptualization of HD, see Alkire, 2002; Rotberg, 2004; Welzel et al., 2003!. In contrast to other broader conceptualizations, in this paper we use a narrow definition of human development. Following Sen, we define human development as “the process of expanding education, health care, and other conditions of human life” ~1999: 41!. There are several reasons why the consideration and the promotion of human development are crucial for developing countries. Several scholars recognize that social policy has a positive impact on domestic levels of consumption, productivity, economic growth, social cohesion, and polit-

CHILE Y EL GIRO ELECTORAL: "LA VERGÜENZA DE HABER SIDO Y EL DOLOR DE YA NO SER"

Resumen es: A pesar de los altos niveles de popularidad presidencial de Michelle Bachelet y la elevada aprobacion del desempeno de su gobierno, durante el ano 2009 (...

Reforma de pensiones en América Latina: orígenes y estrategias, 1980-2002

Resumen en: This research note offers a revision of the structural pension reforms that took place in Latin America from 1980 to 2002 and of the main institutional ...

CHILE: ELECCIONES, CONFLICTOS E INCERTIDUMBRE

Resumen es: Este articulo analiza los principales acontecimientos politicos, economicos y sociales que tuvieron lugar durante el ultimo ano del gobierno del presiden...

Determinants of Policy Change in Latin America: A Comparison of Social Security Reform in Chile and Uruguay (1973–2000)

Abstract Throughout the twentieth century, Chile and Uruguay shared remarkable similarities and reached the 1970s as the holders of the most developed and generous social security systems of Latin America. In spite of their similarities, government responses to the so-called social security crisis were divergent, with Chile promoting a radical retrenchment strategy under military rule that was not rolled back after re-democratization, and Uruguay maintaining the historical social security model during military rule, but promoting moderate policy change after transition. How can we explain these contrasting patterns of policy change? Relying on the method of difference and process tracing, this article shows that social security change is the result of three combined explanatory factors. The ideological positions of policy-makers, the patterns of distribution of governmental authority, and the strength of non-state actors are critical in explaining social security change.