Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America and Anti‐Poverty Policies in Chile: Why is Chile's Market Economy Unable to Reduce Poverty and Inequality?

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) in Latin America and to assess Chile's anti‐poverty policies, including Chile Solidario and the Ethical Wage. The paper has a summary evaluation of the most important CCTs in Latin America, an analysis of the nature and limited impact of Chile Solidario, a discussion of poverty and vulnerability in Chile, and the Ethical Wage approach pursued by the Piñera administration The paper concludes by questioning the capacity of market oriented approaches to poverty reduction and argues that because poverty is a multifaceted situation, poverty reduction requires a multidimensional approach that includes at the very least educational, employment and labor policies.