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Social Spending and Income Redistribution in Argentina During the 2000s: the Rising Role of Noncontributory Pensions

Author

Listed:
  • Nora Lustig

    () (Department of Economics, Tulane University)

  • Carola Pessino

    () (School of Government and Executive Director, Centro de Investigaciones y Evaluación en Economía Social para el Alivio de la Pobreza, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Abstract

Between 2003 and 2009, Argentina's social spending as a share of GDP increased by 7.6 percentage points. Marginal benefit incidence analysis for 2003, 2006, and 2009 suggests that the contribution of cash transfers to the reduction of disposable income inequality and poverty rose markedly between 2006 and 2009 primarily due to the launching of a noncontributory pension program – the pension moratorium – in 2004. Noncontributory pensions as a share of GDP rose by 2.2 percentage points between 2003 and 2009 and entailed a redistribution of income to the poor, and from the formal sector pensioners with above minimum pensions to the beneficiaries of the pension moratorium. The redistributive impact of the expansion of public spending on education and health was also sizable and equalizing, but to a lesser degree. An assessment of fiscal funding sources puts the sustainability of the redistributive policies into question, unless nonsocial spending is significantly cut.

Suggested Citation

  • Nora Lustig & Carola Pessino, 2012. "Social Spending and Income Redistribution in Argentina During the 2000s: the Rising Role of Noncontributory Pensions," Working Papers 1221, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:tul:wpaper:1221
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    File URL: http://repec.tulane.edu/RePEc/pdf/tul1221.pdf
    File Function: First Version, November 2012
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fiszbein, Ariel & Adúriz, Isidro & Giovagnoli, Paula Inés, 2003. "El impacto de la crisis argentina en el bienestar de los hogares," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), April.
    2. Leonardo Gasparini & Guillermo Cruces, 2010. "Las asignaciones universales por hijo en Argentina: Impacto, discusión y alternativas," Económica, Departamento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, vol. 0, pages 145-186, January-D.
    3. Emanuela Galasso & Martin Ravallion, 2004. "Social Protection in a Crisis: Argentina's Plan Jefes y Jefas," World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 18(3), pages 367-399.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Social Spending and Income Redistribution in Argentina During the 2000s: the Rising Role of Noncontributory Pensions
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2013-02-27 18:57:19

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Inés Berniell & Dolores de la Mata & Matilde P. Machado, 2013. "The impact of a permanent Income shock on the situation of women in the household: the case of a pension reform in Argentina," DOCUMENTOS DE TRABAJO 011037, UNIVERSIDAD DEL ROSARIO.
    2. Nora Lustig & Carola Pessino, 2013. "Social spending and income redistribution in Argentina during the 2000s: The rising noncontributory pensions," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 1305, Tulane University, Department of Economics, revised Aug 2013.
    3. Branko Milanovic & Sean Higgins & Nora Lustig & Whitney Ruble & Timothy M. Smeeding, 2016. "Comparing the Incidence of Taxes and Social Spending in Brazil and the United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62, pages 22-46, August.
    4. Branko Milanovic & Sean Higgins & Nora Lustig & Whitney Ruble & Timothy M. Smeeding, 2016. "Comparing the Incidence of Taxes and Social Spending in Brazil and the United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62, pages 22-46, August.
    5. Nora Lustig & Florencia Amábile & Marisa Bucheli & George Gray Molina & Sean Higgins & Miguel Jaramillo & Wilson Jiménez Pozo & Veronica Paz Arauco & Claudiney Pereira & Carola Pessino & Máximo Rossi , 2013. "The impact of taxes and social spending on inequality and poverty in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay: An overview," Working Papers 315, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    6. Nancy Birdsall, Nora Lustig, Christian Meyer, 2013. "The Strugglers: The New Poor in Latin America?-Working Paper 337," Working Papers 337, Center for Global Development.
    7. Inchauste, Gabriela & Lustig, Nora & Maboshe, Mashekwa & Purfield, Catriona & Woolard, Ingrid, 2015. "The distributional impact of fiscal policy in South Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7194, The World Bank.
    8. Nora Lustig & Carola Pessino, 2012. "Social Spending and Income Redistribution in Argentina During the 2000s: the Rising Role of Noncontributory Pensions. Extended Version," Working Papers 276, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    9. Nora Lustig & Florencia Amábile & Marisa Bucheli & George Gray Molina & Sean Higgins & Miguel Jaramillo & Wilson Jiménez Pozo & Veronica Paz Arauco & Claudiney Pereira & Carola Pessino & Máximo Rossi , 2013. "The impact of taxes and social spending on inequality and poverty in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay: An overview," Working Papers 315, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    10. Sean Higgins, Nora Lustig, Whitney Ruble, and Timothy Smeeding, 2014. "Comparing the Incidence of Taxes and Social Spending in Brazil and the United States - Working Paper 360," Working Papers 360, Center for Global Development.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    social spending; benefit incidence; inequality; poverty; Argentina;

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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