Argentina?s Welfare Regime: Protection, Social Capital and Citizenship, 1991-2005

ROSALÍA CORTES Y GABRIEL KESSLER

Universidad de Texas en Austin

Conferencia; International Conferencia on Compared Welfare Regimes; 2006

Teresa Lozano Long Institute, Universidad de Texas.

The paper discusses the recent transition between two modalities of social service provision in Argentina.  The analysis tries to ascertain how much the shift between two economic strategies has changed social policy orientation between 1991 and 2005.  The presentation is organized as follows:  the first section depicts the model of Argentina?s social provision until 1991 reforms.  Section two discusses the 1990s welfare strategies.  The third section analyzes the Plan Jefes y Jefas de Hogar desocupados (Unemployed Household Heads? Program), the post-devaluation main social program. In the last section we discuss the determinants of social policy, its impact on citizenship, and the role of social capital and social actors.