2018/08/31 by Alisha C. Holland · 101 citations
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Income, Poverty, and Inequality #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism #Latin Americans #Redistribution (election) #Economics #Welfare state #Redistribution of income and wealth #Subsidy #Economic inequality #Welfare #Social insurance #Social security #Social policy #Social exclusion #Public economics #Income distribution #Inequality #Development economics #Politics #Political science #Economic growth #Market economy
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0043887118000096
published in World Politics 70(4), 555-594 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2018/08/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/11
In Latin America, the relationship between income and support for redistribution is weak and variable despite the region's extreme income inequality. This article shows that this condition is rooted in the truncated structure of many Latin American welfare states. Heavy spending on contributory social insurance for formal-sector workers, flat or regressive subsidies, and informal access barriers mean that social spending does far less for the poor in Latin America than it does in advanced industrial economies. Using public opinion data from across Latin America and original survey data from Colombia, the author demonstrates that income is less predictive of attitudes in the countries and social policy areas in which the poor gain less from social expenditures. Social policy exclusion leads the poor to doubt that they will benefit from redistribution, thereby dampening their support for it. The article reverses an assumption in political economy models that welfare exclusion unleashes demands for greater redistribution. Instead, truncation reinforces skepticism about social policy helping the poor. Welfare state reforms to promote social inclusion are essential to strengthen redistributive coalitions.