IntroductionOver the last decade and a half, countries in Latin America (henceforth LA or the region) have, by-and-large, crafted societal consensuses in favor of macroeconomic stability, and have invested heavily in policies and institutions necessary for that stability. Seen from the lens of previous decades, this is a major achievement.Over roughly the same period, these countries also developed new programs to combat poverty.

• Conditional Cash Transfer Programs In Latin America Sewall Park
• Conditional Cash Transfer Programs In Latin America Sewall And Associates

Beginning in 1995, a simple idea began to take hold in Mexico and later in Brazil: that rather than transferring income to the poor through price subsidies, food stamps, or direct distribution of foodstuffs (milk, tortillas, bread, etc.), it is better to transfer income directly in monetary form. However, to ensure that such transfers are not permanently needed, they should be conditioned directly on those households’ investments in their human capital, in particular, their health, nutrition, and children’s education. The bet is that healthier and more educated youngsters will enter the labor market under better conditions than their elders did, allowing them to earn more income through their own efforts, breaking the intergenerational transmission of poverty.

Conditional Cash Transfer Programs In Latin America Sewall Park

In short, rather than the older thought, “transfers of income today and transfer of income tomorrow,” the new paradigm emphasizes “transfers of income today to facilitate greater owned earn income tomorrow.”Greater macroeconomic stability and these new poverty programs, more commonly known as Conditional Cash Transfer programs (CCTs), have contributed to the region’s reduction in the proportion of households living in extreme poverty and lowering of income inequality. Other forces have also contributed, like the expansion in coverage of primary education, potable water, and electricity.

AbstractConditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are a recent anti-poverty strategy in Latin America. CCT programs provide cash benefits to finance basic needs and foster investment in human capital to extremely poor households. These benefits are conditioned on certain behaviors, usually related to investments in nutrition, health, and education. In the literature, there is a recognizable lack of analyses from social science disciplines related to CCT program implications.

Conditional Cash Transfer Programs In Latin America Sewall And Associates

This paper contributes in this arena by analyzing the particular role of social work in CCT anti-poverty programs. The educational element of these programs and its theoretical foundation based on the human capital model, the debate around issues of conditionality and targeting, the possible role of CCT programs in a broader reform of social protection systems, and professional practice implications using the Chilean CCT program as a model will be addressed. Gender orientation pdf.