Are targeting and universalism complementary or competing paradigms in social policy? Insights from Brazil India and South Africa

Since the 1980s, targeting has been high on the social policy agenda in the global South. In the wake of structural adjustment programmes, governments tightened their fiscal policies and it is in this context that targeting was widely adopted. Following a holistic approach, the authors reassess the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of labour research Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 75
Main Authors Leubolt, Bernhard, Fischer, Karin, Saha, Debdulal
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Geneva International Labour Organization, represented by the International Labour Office (ILO) 01.01.2014
Subjects
Abolition of slavery
Developing countries
Economic policy
Economic reform
Fiscal policy
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Income distribution
Informal economy
Infrastructure
Integration
Labor market
LDCs
Liberalism
Population
Poverty
Presidential elections
Public sector
Social exclusion
Social policy
Social services
Studies
Universalism
Working conditions
Brazil
South Africa
India
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Summary:Since the 1980s, targeting has been high on the social policy agenda in the global South. In the wake of structural adjustment programmes, governments tightened their fiscal policies and it is in this context that targeting was widely adopted. Following a holistic approach, the authors reassess the relationship between targeting and universalism in the global South. They analyse recent developments in three countries that have recently reformed their social policies: Brazil and South Africa have introduced cash transfers, and India has implemented food transfer schemes and an employment programme. With reference to these countries, they examine different types of social incorporation, that is, social insurance, targeted assistance and universalism. In addition, they analyse which groups have historically been included in, or excluded from, the social welfare system. Moreover, they analyse budgets in order to assess the relationship between social infrastructure and services, cash benefits and workfare programmes. Additionally, they also touch upon the issue of service users.
ISSN:2076-9806
2076-9814