The Political Economy of Welfare State Restructuring in Latin America

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K03275
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Politics
• Research Institution: Waseda University (2016-2018); Kobe University (2015)
• Principal Investigator: Takahashi Yuriko 早稲田大学, 政治経済学術院, 准教授 (30432553)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 民主主義 / ラテンアメリカ / 福祉国家 / 福祉再編 / 貧困 / 格差 / 政治経済学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to clarify the factors that have prompted the reorganization of welfare states in Latin America, which has experienced democratization in the past three decades. Using official statistics of social expenditure and cases studies, it provides the followings. Since the 1990s, countries in the region have restructured their welfare states by increasing the disbursement of non-contributory social assistance, with an emphasis on social protection for the poor, which had been traditionally excluded from social insurance schemes. Specifically, the expansion of conditional cash transfer policies, the institutionalization of social pensions, and the strengthening of coordination between welfare and labor policies were promoted. This study also demonstrates that the trend of reorganization of welfare states, which has converged on universalization of benefits, is common in the region, and is not determined by political factors such as the degree of democracy and partisanship.

Free Research Field

比較政治学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ラテンアメリカにおける福祉再編の政治経済的要因を包括的・実証的に分析する本研究は、政治学を中心として、学術的・政策的含意を提供することが期待される。まず、福祉再編の比較政治学、比較政治経済学研究は、先進国の事例を扱った研究蓄積は豊富であるが、新興民主主義諸国についての研究は少ない。本研究の成果は、他の新興国の分析に、有益な知見を提供することが予想される。また、所得格差の縮小と貧困削減は、国際援助機関や途上国政府が積極的に取り組んでいる課題であり、その根本的解決に向けてどのような福祉再編が望まれるのか、本研究はその諸条件を示すことができる。このように、本研究の学術的・社会的意義は大きいといえる。