The future of social protection in Latin America in a context of accelerated changes

This article discusses the future of social protection in Latin America and the challenges the region faces in the three key performance areas: coverage, sufficiency and sustainability. In particular, the article analyses how coverage is strongly determined by the structure of employment; the limits to expand it given the inability to generate sufficient fiscal space; the consequences of widespread economic and labour informality; the governance deficits; and the acceleration of population aging. It also discusses the increasing need of an adequate combination of contributory and non-contributory social protection provision, as well as the need for a better articulation of social protection systems with the sustainable development framework and its three main spheres: economic, social and environmental. Finally, it is addressed the future of social protection in a context of a growing employment in the services sector, technological change and automation of production and employment; and the relevance of an adequate social protection response to the consequences of climate change and the effects of natural disasters.