"Series of well-written articles examines regional poverty and income distribution. Includes separate articles on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as over 150 tables. Valuable contribution"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57

Machine generated contents note: 1 Welfare Reform: An Agenda for Reauthorization -- Ron Haskins and Rebecca M. Blank -- Part II: The Biggest Issues -- 2 Implementation of the Personal Responsibility -- Act of 1996 -- Thomas L. Gais, Richard P? Nathan, Irene Lurie, -- and Thomas Kaplan --...

Market transitions and the poor: new coalitions for economic reform? -- From emergency employment to social investment: politics, adjustment, and poverty in Chile -- The politics of protecting the poor during adjustment: Bolivia's emergency social fund -- The politics of reform without a safety...

"Case study of Progresa-Oportunidades that describes the origins, objectives, and institutional design and scope of Progresa; provides a broad assessment of results to date; discusses the main challenges faced by the program in the future; and makes some suggestions for poverty programs drawn from...

"Argues that incoherent social programs significantly contribute to poverty and little growth. Proposes converting the existing social security system into universal social entitlements. Advocates eliminating wage-based social security contributions and raising consumption taxes on higher-income...