Politics, social welfare policy, and the population problem in Latin America
Malloy, J.M.; Borzutzky, S.
International Journal of Health Services Planning Administration Evaluation 12(1): 77-98
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0020-7314 PMID: 7076380 DOI: 10.2190/438k-u064-qrt9-4d83Document Number: 351842
This paper examines the interaction between social welfare policies and the "population problem" in Latin America. It demonstrates that social security programs, by reinforcing highly unequal patterns of stratification, have had a largely negative effect on population issues in the region. Social security policy in turn is analyzed as a particular political adaptation to the realities of dependent capitalist development. As a result, the population problem in Latin America is viewed less as a product of mindless demographic forces than as a politically induced reality stemming from the accumulated impact and negative consequences of a variety of consciously formulated public policies.