Reassembling Social Security

The very successful career of Carmelo Mesa-Lago has been always characterized by the thoroughness of his arguments and the enormous richness of the empirical evidence he uses to support them. His latest book is the culmination of that scientific effort centered in promoting more effective and equitable social policies. It offers a demolishing criticism of the [structural] reforms but never falls into simplistic or superficial arguments, presenting insteadnumerous facets that enrich our understanding of such processes... a monumental work that excels for its wealth of information, rigor of the proposals, and the very interesting and ambitious researchagenda that leaves us for the future'Diego Sánchez-Ancochea, América Latina Hoy: Revista de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de SalamancaThis compendious volume by Latin America’s most respected social security scholar…is undoubtedly the definitive account of the marketization of pensions and health care in Latin America. It should be consulted not only by Latin American social security scholars but by anyone interested in issues of social policy, privatization and welfare. The author’s painstaking research and wide knowledge and experience of the region has obviously informed thislandmark study which objectively and dispassionately demonstrates [‘using a wealth of statistical data’] that many claims about the positive effects of marketization have not been realized…Social securityscholars will eagerly await Mesa-Lago’s future reports on these developments’James Midgley, University of California Berkeley, Journal of Sociology and Social WelfareMesa-Lago is an example of a university professor whose vast research has resulted in practical implementation, effectively contributed to the development of several disciplines, [and] significantly advanced the social sciences particularly economics through his valuable studies on poverty and social security. His works have no epitome Although there is an important literature on the theme of his book, published by international and regional organizations,we needed a comprehensive and comparative study of pension and health care reforms in all Latin American countries. This book fills that vacuum [and] we are sure that it will stimulate the debate, improvethe understanding of the reforms and, above all, lead to better pensions and health care in Latin America'Luis Aparicio Valdés, Director Análisis Laboral, Lima,Thirty years ago Carmelo Mesa-Lago published his book Social Security in Latin America: Pressure Groups, Stratification and Inequality, fruit of a monumental research effort that open a field virtually absent in the disciplines of economics, sociology and political science in Latin America…after that pioneering work and a remarkable academic life he gives us another book of colossal dimension Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pension and HealthCare Reforms in Latin America, devoted to the evaluation of diverse social security reforms in the region, especially in the last decade’Aldo Isuani, Profesor de FLACSO, Nueva Sociedad Buenos AiresA meticulous and comprehensive analysis of the pensions and health-care reforms in Latin America [that] combines a detailed study of countries and the elaboration of taxonomies that contribute to the conceptualization and understanding of said reforms within a global framework...a monumental effort [that] illuminates the specificities and prevents against the risk of easy simplification in the evaluation of the nature and effects of the reforms...[and]allows the questioning of their defenders and detractors. A more than useful contribution to the debate that Latin American societies must do on social security'Silvana Harriett, Cuadernos del CLAEH, MontevideoThis book is an outstanding achievement. Few could have written a book on welfare reform in Latin America with the depth of knowledge, acute understanding, and easy accessibility that Mesa Lago is able to use to illuminate on this subject. Our understanding of welfare reforms in the region is in large part due to his work. A wonderful bequest for those researching this area.‘Armando Barrientos, Brooks World Poverty Institute at the University of ManchesterThis is a unique and updated piece of academic work with a policy oriented approach to Latin American social security issues. Because pensions and heath care dominate most of Latin American social policy agenda but also have extremely relevant economic and fiscal consequences, this book is a must for everyone interested in a comprehensive view of this heterogeneous region. Therefore, the book is a valuable resource for experts on pensions, health care,social security, and Latin America.'Fabio M. Bertranou, Senior Social Security Specialist, International Labour Organizacion (ILO), Santiago, ChileWithout a doubt, Dr. Mesa-Lago’s study is the most comprehensive, critical and accurate account of the evolution of social security systems -including an impact evaluation of recent reforms - in the 20 Latin American countries. A must read for policy-makers and scholars interested in social security systems.‘Núria Homedes, MD, DrPh, Director of Global Health, University of Texas-Houston, School of Public Health, and Antonio Ugalde, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Texas-Austin, Department of SociologyThis book is an elegant and well-researched tour-de-force of Latin American pension and health reforms and their impacts. Drawing on five decades of work on social security systems in Latin America, Carmelo Mesa-Lago bridges the gap between pensions and health care through a cross-cutting analysis of vexing policy issues. This book will become an invaluable asset for all those grappling with the complexities of social policies in Latin America.'Gerard M. La Forgia, Lead Health Specialist, World BankThis comprehensive volume is written by the most knowledgeable expert on Latin American pension and health care issues, a long-standing observer of social policy making on the subcontinent. His razor-sharp analysis and recommendations deserve many readers in Latin America and beyond.‘Dr. Katharina Mueller, Professor of Social Policy, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences`Carmelo Mesa-Lago is one of the masters on economics of Social Security in Latin America. In the last three decades, his ideas, books and accurate papers had influenced many generations of social economists and policy makers in every country of the Region. This book is a new masterpiece that will contribute to update the knowledge about the achievements and challenges of the last generation of reforms on social security in Latin America.‘André Medici, Senior Social Development Specialist, Inter American Development Bank

Carmelo Mesa-Lago is Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics and Latin American Studies at the University of Pittsburgh and has been a visiting professor or researcher in Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay, United Kingdom and the United States, as well as a lecturer in 36 countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. He is the author of 73 books/monographs and about 240 articles/chapters published in 8 languages in 33 countries,most of them on social security including pensions and healthcare. He has worked in all Latin America countries and several in the Caribbean, as well as in Germany, Egypt, Ghana and Thailand, as aregional advisor for ECLAC, a consultant with the ILO, the International Social Security Association (ISSA), PAHO, UNRISD, UNDP and other U.N. branches, as well as most international financial organizations (World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank), national and foreign foundations.