[...]... assesses the strengths and weaknesses in the six fundamental principles of social security in Latin America prior w the currem global crisis, in order to observe outcomes and learn lessons from successful ami -crisis social policies The regional situation is evaluated between 200 6-8 before the global recession hit Social insurance pension and healrhcare reforms implemented mainly in the 1990s and the early... CRISES ON SOCIAL SECURITY T he ongoing crisis has already generated adverse effects on social security in Latin America and the Caribbean, some of which occurred in previous recessions, particularly in the 1980s Although the causes of these periods of economic decline are different, their effects on social security will probably be similar It is useful therefore to examine such causes and extract lessons. .. pension scheme in the former and the oldest non-contributory pension scheme in the region in the latter The remarkable expansion of such coverage in Costa Rica ( 16 percentage points between 1991 health care, nutrition and pensions (Barrientos and Santib;ifiez, 2009) 2 Pensions Trends in coverage up to the beginning of the crisis were mixed, depending both on the three groups and on whether the system is... decline at the end of their working life due to physical deterioration; undermining the linkage between the contribution and the pension amount; and exposing the pension level to the risk of inflation Furthermore, replacement rates exceed the 45 percent minimum norm of the ILO: the range of the minimum replacement rate is 5 0-7 0 per cent and that of the maximum rare is 8 0-1 00 per cent Such liberal conditions... sufficiency indicators in pensions: the granting of a minimum guaranteed pension by social insurance or the state and adjustment of pensions to the cost of living to avoid its deterioration in real terms 28 29 SOCIAL SECURITY IN LATIN AMERICA SOCIAL SECURITY BEFORE THE CURRENT CRISIS Seventeen countries offered the minimum pension, albeit with important differences regarding entitlement conditions and amounts;... more robust conclusions 1 Health care The segmentation predominating in the region generates inefficiency, duplication of functions and waste, as well as more difficult effective interventions according to costs and the efficient use of resources (Sojo, 2009) Table 4 summarises, circa 2005, nine health indicators in 20 Latin American countries and five in the non -Latin Caribbean: five on inputs (columns... giving it power to regulate and supervise the entire health system and control the fulfilmem of diverse providers, improving inspection and establishing a National Health EFFECTS OF THE CURRENT CRISIS ON SOCIAL SECURITY 57 Table 7: Effect ofthe crisis on the coverage ofsocial insurance pemiom (private) and health care in Latin America, 200 7-9 (in percentages) Groups/ Countries Total population in health... Following the 1980s economic slump, the EAP pension coverage and population healthcare access dropped due to: an increase in unemployment; informality; employers' evasion and payment delays; poverty; and a cut in public health budgets Pension coverage decreased in 11 Latin American countries, stagnated in two and increased in four (information was not available for the other three) In three non -Latin. .. and low-income strata and increased protection for the elderly by flexibilising certain condidons pertaining to their right to claim a contributory pension (Mesa-Lago, 2008b) Facing a jump in poverty from 13 to 23 per cent among elderly heads ofhousehold caused by the 200 1-3 crisis, Argentina extended non-contributory pension coverage without budgetary limits to all the elderly lacking pension and resources,... {including contributory and non-contributory programmes) The model was significant and explained about 80 per cent of the variance in pension coverage, but it had too many independem variables and only a limited number of observations Therefore a second constrained model Was run, including only the two significant independem variables, which reinforced the previous findings that the relationship was inversely . alt="" World Crisis Effects on Social Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: Lessons and Policies Carmela Mesa-Lago •••• • •• : INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF THE •• AMERICAS. V-shaped: -1 .9% in 2009, 1.1% in 2010 and 3.9% in 2011, recovering pre -crisis level in 2011, and 2) L-shaped: -2 .1% in 2009, -1 .8% in 2010 and 0.3% in 2011, recovering pre -crisis. one exception. 4 SOCIAL SECURITY IN LATIN AMERICA addressed to the state, social security institutions, the private sector and international and regional organisations. The effects of