Projects under way:
> “A new social and economic agenda for Latin America: lessons from the past and agenda for the future” (2007)
The main objective of this study was to develop a comparative study about Latin American incomes transfer programs. It focuses on a comparative analysis of the programs implemented in Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Honduras and Argentina and their impact on poverty.
> “History of Social Policies in Argentina” (2005-2008)
This project aims at tracing the history of social policies, especially those intended for the poorest sectors of Argentinean society. By social policies we mean what the Anglo-Saxon literature calls “welfare policies”. Most part of the existing studies in this field have taken interest in a few of them: institutions such as Casa de Niños Expósitos de Buenos Aires, Sociedad de Beneficencia or Fundación Eva Perón, which, due to their management style and their relevance in the past, may be considered as true paradigms in the field of social policies. But while these researches account for the characteristics of these institutions, they rarely refer to other periods in the history of the country, or continuities and ruptures in this long course of social policies. This research aims at building a narrative that takes into account issues such as institutional political environment where these kinds of interventions haven taken place, their impact on the welfare of the social groups who benefited from these policies, and their influence in the formation of the various social stakeholders, actions developed, coverage achieved, resources used, and style of management in different periods in history. From this perspective, and considering the relevance of the subject, this research gathers together a series of monographic studies that account for social policy developments through the various moments in the Argentinean history since late 19th Century.
> “The new social programs in Argentina” (2003-2004)
Since 2001, within a context of a deep socio-economic crisis, the Argentinean Government lunched the Insurance for Female and Male Heads of Household with the aim to cover a broad proportion of the population and to reduce the high level of social conflict. In 2004, the Government replaced this Insurance by new other strategies of social protection such as the “Family Program”. The Family Program targets the same beneficiaries covered by the previous insurance, especially those who were considered vulnerable population due to their difficulties to access to the job market.
This study research focuses on a comparative study between the “Family Program” and “Insurance for Female and Male Heads of Household” taking into account the following aspects:
1. Design of the program
2. Modes of management
3. Characteristics of the beneficiaries
4. Modes of decision making
5. Economic impact
6. Contribution to the maintenance of social order
7. Participation of distinct actors and their relationship of confrontation and cooperation
8. Political interaction between the government and non-governmental actors
9. Strategies for social inclusion
10. Comparison with other programs.
> “Clubs as mechanisms for social inclusion and the promotion of healthy behaviors” (2004)
Argentina has a long tradition in social and sports clubs that played important roles in the daily lives of a significant number of families in the country. However, over the years we have witnessed the steady decline, bankruptcy, and disappearance of many social and sports institutions, while levels of social exclusion, especially among children and adolescents, has risen. Social breakdown is becoming increasingly more patent and, from the health perspective, sedentarianism and chronic diseases (such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems) are growing at alarming rates. |
