The reform of social security pensions and healthcare is a key issue for the modern world, and in many ways Latin America has acted as a social laboratory for the reform of these systems. From the reforms that took place in Chile in 1981, most pension and health care systems in the region have seen reform, and been fully or partially privatized. Many other countries considering reform of their own systems have been influenced by the policies implemented in Latin America. Yet despite the importance and influence of these reforms, until now there has not been an integrated and comprehensive analysis of the changes and their effects. This book is the result of four years of painstaking work, data collection, field research and international collaboration, and so fills the vacuum in the literature with a systematic comparison of pension and healthcare reforms in the 20 Latin American countries. It identifies reform models, and elaborates taxonomies to facilitate their understanding and comparison. Some key features of the reforms to emerge are: labour force and population coverage, equity and solidarity, sufficiency and quality of benefits, state regulation, competition and degree of privatization, efficiency and administrative costs, social participation in management, financing sources and long-term sustainability. Effects of the reforms on social security principles are measured based on recent standardized statistics and other information. Goals or assumptions of the reforms are contrasted with actual outcomes, and the pros and cons of private versus private provision assessed. Detailed policy recommendations are offered to correct current problems and improve pension and healthcare systems. This is the first book to comprehensively study these influential reforms in Latin America's pension and health care systems, and as such will be of importance to academics and researchers interested in social security and welfare policy, pensions, health care, and public policy; Social security, pension, and health care policy-makers; And social security, pension, and health care consultants and practitioners.

Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pensions and Health Care Reforms in Latin AmericaPublished in association with the Pan-American Health Organization

Business & Money

Mesa-Lago, Carmelo

Economics

Oxford University Press

The reform of social security pensions and healthcare is a key issue for the modern world, and in many ways Latin America has acted as a social laboratory for the reform of these systems. From the reforms that took place in Chile in 1981, most pension and health care systems in the region have seen reform, and been fully or partially privatized. Many other countries considering reform of their own systems have been influenced by the policies implemented in Latin America. Yet despite the importance and influence of these reforms, until now there has not been an integrated and comprehensive analysis of the changes and their effects. This book is the result of four years of painstaking work, data collection, field research, and international collaboration, and so fills the vacuum in the literature with a systematic comparison of pension and healthcare reforms in the 20 Latin American countries. It identifies reform models, and elaborates taxonomies to facilitate their understanding and comparison. Some key features of the reforms to emerge are: labour force and population coverage, equity and solidarity, sufficiency and quality of benefits, state regulation, competition and degree of privatization, efficiency and administrative costs, social participation in management, financing sources and long-term sustainability. Effects of the reforms on social security principles are measured based on recent standardized statistics and other information. Goals or assumptions of the reforms are contrasted with actual outcomes, and the pros and cons of private versus private provision assessed. Detailed policy recommendations are offered to correct current problems and improve pension and healthcare systems. This is the first book to comprehensively study these influential reforms in Latin America's pension and health care systems, and as such will be of importance to academics and researchers interested in social security and welfare policy, pensions, heal

Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pensions and Health Care Reforms in Latin America

Insurance

How can we determine which economic model best provides for economic development and social welfare? In this major comparative work, noted economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago analyzes three Latin American countries with divergent economic systems: Chile (a market economy), Cuba (socialist), and Costa Rica (mixed). He examines their economic and social policies, shows how these policies affect performance based on a set of socioeconomic variables, and ranks the countries among themselves (using new techniques) and in comparison with international indicators. The time frame of the study embraces thirty-eight years for Costa Rica (under the democratic social democracy) and Cuba (under the socialist revolution) and twenty-four years for Chile (under Pinochet and the return to democracy). Mesa-Lago focuses on the three diverse socioeconomic models that these countries represent during these periods.

Market, Socialist, and Mixed Economies: Comparative Policy and Performance--Chile, Cuba, and Costa Rica

Johns Hopkins University Press

Cuba's Aborted Reform: Socioeconomic Effects, International Comparisons, and Transition Policies

This volume analyzes Cuban socioeconomic policies and evaluates their performance since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist camp. It provides a brief historical background to the crisis and analyzes in detail the deterioration and incomplete recovery since 1990. Comparing Cuba’s performance with that of other Latin American and former socialist countries, it summarizes the views of noted Cuban economists and proposes policies that architects of the Cuban transition might wish to put in place after the passing of Castro.Focusing on economic and social policies and performance during the “Special Period in Time of Peace” (1990-2004), the authors draw on an impressive array of statistics (synthesized in 28 tables) to show that in 2005 Cuba has yet to return to economic levels of the late 1980s, and the access and quality of many of the highly touted social services--education, health care, social security, housing--also have not been restored to the levels achieved prior to the economic crisis triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, they argue, poverty has expanded and unequal access to foreign remittances combined with expanding income differences have exacerbated social inequalities and widened the consumption gap between those with access to hard currency and those without.The authors demonstrate that governmental concerns about a strengthening private sector resulting in loss of political control finally prompted the Cuban leadership to prioritize political over economic ends. It aborted the modest market-oriented reforms of 1993-1996 and actually reversed them in 2003-2004, recentralized the economy, drastically reduced the limited spaces for private economic activity, exerted increasing control over hard currency, prohibited the circulation of the dollar, and stepped up repressive measures on peaceful dissidents. Centralized economic control has been fully restored, even though it will undoubtedly result in further deterioration of economic conditions and declining standards of living.

Pérez-López, Jorge F.

University Press of Florida

This volume analyzes Cuban socioeconomic policies and evaluates their performance since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist camp. It provides a brief historical background to the crisis and analyzes in detail the deterioration and incomplete recovery since 1990. Comparing Cuba's performance with that of other Latin American and former socialist countries, it summarizes the views of noted Cuban economists and proposes policies that architects of the Cuban transition might wish to put in place after the passing of Castro. Focusing on economic and social policies and performance during the "Special Period in Time of Peace" (1990-2004), the authors draw on an impressive array of statistics (synthesized in 28 tables) to show that in 2005 Cuba has yet to return to economic levels of the late 1980s, and the access and quality of many of the highly touted social services--education, health care, social security, housing--also have not been restored to the levels achieved prior to the economic crisis triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, they argue, poverty has expanded and unequal access to foreign remittances combined with expanding income differences have exacerbated social inequalities and widened the consumption gap between those with access to hard currency and those without. The authors demonstrate that governmental concerns about a strengthening private sector resulting in loss of political control finally prompted the Cuban leadership to prioritize political over economic ends. It aborted the modest market-oriented reforms of 1993-1996 and actually reversed them in 2003-2004, recentralized the economy, drastically reduced the limited spaces for private economic activity, exerted increasing control over hard currency, prohibited the circulation of the dollar, and stepped up repressive measures on peaceful dissidents. Centralized economic control has been fully restored, even though it will undoubtedly result in further deterioration of economic conditions and declining standards of living.Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2006: "The best available introduction to the contemporary Cuban economy and a useful reference volume for specialists. Essential" (2007).

"hospital discharges by department are shown"

Health Care In Peru: Resources And Policy (WESTVIEW SPECIAL STUDIES ON LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN)

Locay, Luis

Zschock, Dieter K

Solari, Alfredo

Sanderson, Warren

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Westview Press

Comparing Socialist Approaches: Economics and Social Security in Cuba, China, and Vietnam (Pitt Latin American Series)

University of Pittsburgh Press

A comprehensive and sophisticated study of the relationship between social security policy and inequality in Latin America. Individual case studies of Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina, and Mexico are presented, that provide a historical analysis of each country's social security policy, the pressure groups involved, the present structure of the systems, and a statistical examination of the inequality among these pressure groups.

Social Security in Latin America: Pressure Groups, Stratification, and Inequality (Pitt Latin American Series, 349)

Cuba in the 1970s: Pragmatism and Institutionalization

A multidiciplinary study of the politics, economics and society in Cuba during the first decade of the Revolution. Spanish edition: Dialéctica de la Revolución Cubana (Madrid, Editorial Playor, 1979, 244 p.). Chinese edition: Qishi niandai de Guba-- Romanized title from the Chinese (Beijing: Institute of Latin American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 1980, 207 p.)."A must reading not only for Caribbeanists and students of political sociology but for anyone interested in the theory and practice of international power politics" (Caribbean Studies, 1979).  "An excellent analysis which can be recommended to anyone interested in the last ten years in Cuba" (Francis Lambert, University of Glasgow, Journal of Latin American Studies, 1977). "Exceptionally well written for use in survey courses, well documented and balanced interpretation; approaches the subject in sober and pondered manner" (Anthony Maingot, Latin American Research Review, 1978). " A significant addition to the existing literature" (John D. Martz, Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina, Perspective, 1975). "This is the most important of the recent books on Cuba. Mesa-Lago has produced a careful, sober and scholarly picture of the Revolution's institutionalization. He provides his work with the balance that is lacking in other books" (Ronald Radosh, CUNY, Dissent, 1976). "We were in need of a book such as this to bring us up to date" (Maria Snethladge, CEDLA, Amsterdam, Boletín de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe, 1976).  "A valuable study of the causes and methods by which Cuban policies have, since 1970, increasingly fallen into line with the policies of the Soviet Union" (José Camacho, Institute of Latin America, Free University of Berlin, International Affairs, 1978). "Mesa-Lago tries admirably to interpret the dramatic changes that have altered the course of the Cuban revolution since 1970" (J.G. Ogelsby, University of Western Ontario, International Journal, 1979).  "In what may be the best summary of Cuban developments in the last decade, Mesa-Lago has demonstrated again his familiarity with the vast primary and secondary literature in the field and his sensitivity and maturity in interpreting those sources" (South Eastern Latin Americanist, 1975).  "This book constitutes the great published synthesis of the Cuban experiment considered in all its aspects, extremely useful for scholars in the field" (Carlos Romero, Political Scientist, Argos, Caracas, 1980) "An informative, cogent, and well documented discussion of recent policy changes in the Cuban Revolution" (Choice, 1975). "This is an excellent purchase because it digs deeply into the current information and is fairly easy reading. It belongs on every shelf in America" (The Times of the Americas, 1976). "This is perhaps the best scholarly work on recent events and a plausible projection of Cuba's future" (Perspective, 1975).

Cuba in the 1970s: Pragmatism and institutionalization

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

University of New Mexico Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mesa-Lago, Carmelo. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mesa-Lago, Carmelo

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mesa-Lago, Carmelo. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pensions and Health Care Reforms in Latin AmericaPublished in association with the Pan-American Health Organization

Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pensions and Health Care Reforms in Latin America

Market, Socialist, and Mixed Economies: Comparative Policy and Performance--Chile, Cuba, and Costa Rica

Cuba's Aborted Reform: Socioeconomic Effects, International Comparisons, and Transition Policies

Cuba's Aborted Reform: Socioeconomic Effects, International Comparisons, and Transition Policies

Health Care In Peru: Resources And Policy (WESTVIEW SPECIAL STUDIES ON LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN)

Comparing Socialist Approaches: Economics and Social Security in Cuba, China, and Vietnam (Pitt Latin American Series)

Social Security in Latin America: Pressure Groups, Stratification, and Inequality (Pitt Latin American Series, 349)

Cuba in the 1970s: Pragmatism and institutionalization

Cuba in the 1970s: Pragmatism and Institutionalization