How Have the Social Protection Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean Responded to the COVID-19 Crisis?

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ID: 314282
2026
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Abstract
Abstract As in many other low- and middle-income countries worldwide, existing social protection systems in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are often fragmented and do not provide adequate protection to all risks that people may face across the life cycle and to all vulnerable groups, often leaving out informal workers, for example. In the face of the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was central that social protection systems were flexible and capable of responding timely to shocks. For this, the introduction of both horizontal and vertical expansions of social protection programs were vital to increase coverage and adequacy of benefits, as well as to guarantee comprehensiveness to address the multifaceted vulnerabilities to which different groups are exposed. Mainly based on information gathered in the Mapping of Social Protection Responses to COVID-19 in the Global South developed by the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, this chapter analyzes the responses in LAC until June 2021 in terms of their coverage, adequacy, and comprehensiveness. In summary, social protection responses were very varied, given the diversity of LAC countries, yet most measures were in the field of social assistance, mainly in the form of cash transfers, often targeted at informal workers. While expansion efforts were unprecedented and some programs reached significant shares of the population, most responses remained temporary and often paid only low benefits. Given the economic crisis provoked by COVID-19, it will be crucial that the social protection systems in the region build on the lessons learned and expand coverage and adequacy of their programs in the long term, taking also the diverse needs of different population groups into account.
Reference Key
openalex_W7161947865 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Nurth Palomo, Lucas Sato, Anna Carolina Machado, Charlotte Bilo
Journal Oxford University Press eBooks
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197761465.013.0020
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197761465.013.0020
Keywords Keywords not found

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