UNU-WIDER WP/2012/013 Social Policies or Private Solidarity?: The Equalizing Role of Migration and Remittances in El Salvador
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WP/013 Social Policies or Private Solidarity?: The Equalizing Role of Migration and Remittances in El Salvador
This paper reviews the pattern of poverty rates and income inequality in El Salvador since the 1990s. It discusses some of the likely factors that explain the reduction in income inequality that has taken place in the country in the last decade, which paradoxically has coincided with the long period of economic stagnation that has followed dollarization since 2001. After examination of the available evidence, we conclude that this trend has been mainly due to the equalizing effect of migration and remittances (that is, a ‘private safety net’ built around solidarity within families) rather than the distributive effect of public social expenditure or other public policies.
- Publisher:
- UNU-WIDER
- Series:
- WIDER Working Paper
- Volume:
- 2012/13
- Title:
- WP/013 Social Policies or Private Solidarity?: The Equalizing Role of Migration and Remittances in El Salvador
- Authors:
- Carlos Acevedo and Maynor Cabrera
- Publication date:
- February 2012
- ISBN 13 Web:
- 978-92-9230-476-8
- Copyright holder:
- © UNU-WIDER
- Copyright year:
- 2012
- Keywords:
- El Salvador, remittances, migration, inequality, poverty, labour market
- JEL:
- D63, E24, I32, J61
- Project:
- The New Policy Model, Inequality and Poverty in Latin America: Evidence from the Last Decade and Prospects for the Future
- Sponsor:
- UNU-WIDER gratefully acknowledges the financial contributions to the research programme by the governments of Denmark (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Finland (Ministry for Foreign Affairs), Sweden (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency—Sida) and the United Kingdom (Department for International Development).
- Format:
- online