Conditional Cash Transfer Programs in Ecuador and Chile: The Role of Policy Diffusion

269 Pages·2020·3.221 MB·English

by  Cecilia Osorio Gonnet

Conditional Cash
Transfer Programs in
Ecuador and Chile
The Role of Policy Diffusion
Cecilia Osorio Gonnet
Conditional Cash Transfer Programs
in Ecuador and Chile
“This book presents groundbreaking research on one of the most important
social policy innovations developed in the Global South in the past 25 years:
Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT). Cecilia Osorio Gonnet overcomes the ‘ter-
ritorial trap’ of conventional public policy analysis and provides a sophisticated
study of CCTs in Latin America, considering both national and transnational
dimensions,withparticularattentiontoChileandEcuador.Sheweaves together
the micro and macro dynamics of policy diffusion to explain the adoption of
CCTsintheregion,unveilingtheroleplayedbyepistemiccommunities,govern-
ments and international organizations. The book is a must read for all scholars
andpractitionersinterestedinsocialpolicies,policydiffusionandLatinAmerican
politics.”
—Osmany Porto de Oliveira, International Relations Department, Federal
University of São Paulo, Brazil
“Cecilia Osorio brings a crucial contribution to the discussion of Conditional
Cash Transfers (CCTs) in the framework of policy diffusion processes. Latin
America was the cradle of those programs and there is a need for an enhanced
understanding of why and how diverse leaders in the region made the decision
to reduce poverty by recurring to the CCT policy model. Dr. Osorio’s work is
context-rich and analytically sophisticated.”
—Michelle Morais de Sa e Silva, University of Oklahoma, USA
“Cecilia Osorio’s book significantly contributes to the study of public policy-
making; an underdeveloped field in Latin America. Using a policy diffusion
perspective, she identifies variables to explain the adoption of Conditional Cash
Transferprograms,whichhaveplayedanimportantroleinovercomingpovertyin
severalcountriesoftheregioninthepastdecades.Shearguesthatpolicychoices
are explained by both institutional capacity and the role of epistemic commu-
nities. Using Chile and Ecuador as case studies, the author tests her hypothesis
through a combination of methodologies, providing solid comparative evidence.
This research offers an original perspective to understanding how different Latin
American countries have approached poverty alleviation and it also contributes
to the broader debate around poverty eradication.”
—Flavia Freidenberg, Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas, UNAM, México, Red
de Politólogas - #NoSinMujeres
Cecilia Osorio Gonnet
Conditional Cash
Transfer Programs
in Ecuador and Chile
The Role of Policy Diffusion
Cecilia Osorio Gonnet
Politics and Government Department
Universidad Alberto Hurtado
Santiago, Chile
ISBN 978-3-030-51007-7 ISBN 978-3-030-51008-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51008-4
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Foreword
Traditionally, political science analyses of countries have focused on
internalperspectives,emphasizingtheimpactofdomesticvariablessuchas
the structure of social classes or the institutions of the particular govern-
mentsystem.Butintheeraofglobalization,thisdomesticapproachisno
longer enough. It is increasingly obvious that external events and devel-
opments have profound effects on the political affairs of the vast majority
of countries.
Therefore, one of the great intellectual challenges that social scien-
tists face in the third millennium is how to investigate and explain these
external influences and their internal repercussions. Are they problem-
atic interferences, such as the conditions imposed by the International
MonetaryFund(IMF)?Arethey“fadsandfashions”thatdomesticactors
follow,withoutfirstassessingtheircostsandbenefits?Orcantheyconsti-
tute novel solutions to difficulties that previously seemed intractable and
from there lead to learning that produces significant improvements?
Latin American policy specialists used to be skeptical about external
influences. When dependence theory predominated in many academic
circles in the North and even more so in the South, there were many
suspicions that, given the hegemonic power of the United States, the
impact of the international system would be disadvantageous for Latin
America. However, in fact, the power of the United States did not turn
out to be so hegemonic, and it has certainly diminished considerably in
recent decades.
v
vi FOREWORD
Therefore,arecentapproachthathasemergedinthelastfewdecadesis
thetheoryofdiffusion,whichemphasizesmorehorizontalinfluences–the
examples of other similar countries; the lessons that can be inferred from
external experiences; and the models offered by a variety of international
organizations that do not have an explicit enforcement capacity. In fact,
eventheIMFhaslearnedthatconditionalityisnotveryeffective,because
it usually provokes open resistance and encourages noncompliance.
Withintherealmofacademicresearchintothediffusionofinnovations,
CeciliaOsorioGonnet’sexcellentbookmakesaremarkablecontribution.
Her thorough analysis is focused on a specific topic of great political and
social relevance, the proliferation of conditional cash transfer programs
in Latin America. This innovation, initially designed and implemented in
Brazil and Mexico, has been adopted by almost the entire region and has
lifted millions of people out of poverty.
The central question in the current academic debate focuses on the
mechanismsthatdrivetheproliferationofreforms,andthecorresponding
implications. With her detailed empirical research, the author demon-
stratestheexistenceofastrongtransnationalnetworkthatconnectssocial
policy experts from all over Latin America and links them with rele-
vant international institutions, such as the World Bank and the Inter-
American Development Bank. It is this “epistemic community” that
allows for an intense exchange of experiences and ideas. Much has been
written about the concept of epistemic community, but few scholars have
undertaken the difficult task of reconstructing these links and demon-
strating the extent of such a network. That Cecilia Osorio Gonnet has
conducted a comprehensive, thorough study of an epistemic community
is an important contribution of this book.
The subsequent challenge was determining the specific influences that
are exchanged through such a broad transnational network. Did the
epistemic community she analyzed engage mainly in rational learning,
promoting foreign innovations based on cost–benefit calculations? Or
did considerations of normative legitimacy or social pressures lead to the
adoption of conditional cash transfer programs in so many countries in
the region?CeciliaOsorioGonnet proposesadifferentiated andsophisti-
catedresponse:Themixofmotivesdependsonthebureaucraticandtech-
nicalcapacitiesofeachcountry.Developingthismainargument,thebook
proposes an interesting explanation that systematically integrates external
and internal factors, combining the approaches of Comparative Politics
and theories of diffusion in a novel synthesis.
FOREWORD vii
To substantiate this important thesis, the author carried out in-depth
research in Ecuador and Chile. Because the Ecuadorian state has limited
capabilities,socialpolicymakersfollowedtherecommendationsofinterna-
tional organizations without making many allowances for or adaptations
to local specificities. An eagerness to emulate the foreign innovation of
conditional cash transfer programs for symbolic and normative reasons
ledtotheadoptionofexternalmodelswithoutappropriatemodifications.
As a result, the Ecuadorian program suffers from problems because local
circumstances were not taken into account.
ThecaseofChilecouldnotbemoredifferent!Becausethiscountryhas
alonghistoryofleadershipinsocialpoliciesandformidabletechnicaland
bureaucratic capabilities, rational learning processes predominated, based
not only on external models, but also on local experiences. Therefore,
the program design embraced Chile’s specific needs and was organically
integrated into the parameters of the local social protection system.
As the governments of contemporary Chile and the political parties
that have sustained them have received many criticisms in recent years, it
isimportanttopointoutthatintermsofthedecision-makingprocessand
the results of public policy implementation, these actors have achieved
very notable successes. The political cycle in Chile’s new democracy,
which seems to have come to an end, has certainly benefited many of
its citizens.
The Chilean case also suggests how it is possible to navigate the chal-
lenges and opportunities of globalization in a reasonable and benefi-
cial way. The central idea established by Cecilia Osorio Gonnet’s book
is, “to neither surrender completely to external influences, nor to cate-
gorically exclude them.” It is good to follow international trends and
import innovative models, but careful evaluation and adaptations to local
requirements are vitally important as well.
Strong bureaucratic structures and advanced technical capabilities are
essential for the process of filtration and adaptation. The skills and abil-
ities required are difficult to accumulate and take a long time to form,
as the ultimately succesful case of Brazil exemplifies. However, they are
easy to waste and even to destroy, as the disastrous case of “Bolivarian”
Venezuelashows.AninterestingtopicthatCeciliaOsorioGonnet’sbook
brings to the attention of social scientists is to examine the conditions
necessary to generate and strengthen such bureaucratic structures and
technical capabilities.
viii FOREWORD
Thus, the current work makes several important contributions,
includingtheempiricalinvestigationofanextensiveepistemiccommunity,
thetheoreticalanalysisofvariousdiffusionmechanisms,andthequestions
it raises for future projects. This book is of great interest to social policy
specialistsanddiffusionscholarsandthereforedeservesalargenumberof
readers.
February 2020 Kurt Weyland
University of Texas at Austin
Santiago, Chile
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 The Main Argument 8
1.2 Methodological Approach 11
1.3 Book Structure 18
References 19
2 SocialPoliciesandConditionalCashTransferPrograms
(CCTs) in Latin America 23
2.1 Conditional Cash Transfer Programs 23
2.2 The Social Policy Context of the 1990s 24
2.3 CCTs in Latin America 27
2.3.1 Characteristics of the CCTs 33
2.3.2 The Emblematic Cases of CCTs in the Region:
Brazil and Mexico 39
2.3.3 CCTs Assessments and Challenges 44
2.4 The Debate About the Diffusion of the Programs 47
References 55
3 Mechanisms and Actors in the Diffusion of Policies:
State of the Issue and Theoretical Proposal 61
3.1 The Policy Diffusion Approach 61
ix
x CONTENTS
3.1.1 Diffusion Mechanisms 64
3.2 Discussion on the Approach and Study Proposal 66
References 85
4 Quantitative Analysis of the Diffusion of Conditional
Cash Transfer Programs in Latin America 89
4.1 The Wave of Diffusion of the Conditional Cash
Transfer Programs 90
4.1.1 The Wave of Diffusion of the CCTs 90
4.1.2 The Diffusion of the CCT Model and Its
Behavior Over Time 95
4.2 Statistical Models and Their Contribution to Research
Hypotheses 102
4.2.1 Period Analyzed and Time Variables 103
4.2.2 Analysis Unit 103
4.2.3 Dependent Variable 104
4.2.4 Independent Variables 104
4.2.5 Presentation of the Models 109
4.3 Analysis of Results 111
References 115
5 The Epistemic Community and International
Organizations in the Diffusion of CCTs 117
5.1 The Epistemic Community and the Role of Banks
During the First Years of the Wave of Diffusion 118
5.2 The Epistemic Community from 2000 121
5.3 The Epistemic Community and Other International
Organizations 130
5.4 Final Comments 138
References 143
6 Chile: The Chile Solidario Program 147
6.1 The Economic and Political Context 147
6.2 The Process of Adopting the Chile Solidario Program 149
6.3 The Learning Diffusion Mechanism 164
References 172