Social Spending in Latin America: The Story of the 1980s

摘要

The study traces public social sector expenditures for nine Latin American countries in the 1980s in order to determine how social services and social well-being fared during the economic stringencies of the decade. The countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Venezuela. Real per capita public social spending on health, education and social security fell during some part of the 1980s in every country in the study. The share of health and education expenditures in total government expenditures fell while that of social security rose. Numerous efforts to increase the efficiency and equity of social service provision were undertaken, but the data available do not indicate that they were successful. In spite of lower funding, and no apparent increases in equity or efficiency, social service indicators generally improved in the 1980s. Possible explanations for this apparent paradox include measurement error, time lags, the current reaping of the benefits of past investments in women's education and in water and sewage systems, the growing role of non-governmental organizations and the for-profit private sector, and technological changes. (Copyright (c) 1990 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.)