摘要：A recent regional study by the World Bank1 measures the
extent to which publicly-subsidized transfers in Latin America
and the Caribbean (LAC) redistribute income. Four factors
motivate our interest in this topic: poverty, inequality, perceptions
of social injustice in LAC, and the significant share of
public resources devoted to these transfers
in several countries in the region.
Clearly, social policy has other important
objectives besides redistribution, including
(a) smoothing of income over
the life cycle in relation to people¡¯s
needs; (b) promoting the accumulation
of human capital; and (c) ensuring adequate
protection against events such
as sickness, disability, unemployment,
or loss of income. These themes, however,
are beyond the scope of this report,
which modestly asks: ¡°how redistributive
are public transfers in Latin America
and the Caribbean (LAC)?¡±
