In Latin America and the Caribbean, where every country is a country of origin, destination, return or transit, international migration is becoming ever more complex and intensive. Migratory flows are increasingly characterized by irregularity; and migrants represent one of the most vulnerable population groups, as victims of stigmatization, discrimination, xenophobia and racism. However, migrants contribute to sustainable development through work, entrepreneurship, remittances and tax payments, in addition to their culture. To enhance these contributions, public policies and migration governance are needed at the multilateral, national and local levels, based on the interaction between migration and development and fulfilment of the countries' human rights obligations.

Since 2010, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has put equality at the center of the regional debate and has promoted the role of social protection as a key public policy for inclusive and sustainable develop- ment in the region. This article addresses the conceptual framework of the social inequality matrix, analyses regional inequality trends, and puts forward social pro- tection and social policy proposals developed by the ECLAC in the recent period. Although the countries of the region have made some progress in reducing income inequality, it continues to be among the highest in the world and is accompanied by inequalities in other dimensions, such as gender, age, territory, race and ethni- city, immigration status, disability, among others. To face these inequalities and overcome poverty, from a rights -based perspective, the ECLAC proposes to establish universal, comprehensive, and sustainable social protection systems. Universal social protection is needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, "leaving no one behind", and represents a crucial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is necessary to rebuild with equality and sustainability.

En este artículo se evalúa el impacto de las transferencias monetarias condicionadas, las pensiones sociales y otras transferencias no contributivas sobre distintos indicadores de pobreza y pobreza extrema en América Latina, sobre la base del análisis de las encuestas de hogares de 15 países de la región entre 2014 y 2017. Se encuentra que en 2017, gracias al efecto combinado de estos programas de protección social no contributiva, en el promedio simple regional, la pobreza se redujo 2,0 puntos porcentuales y la pobreza extrema 1,7 puntos porcentuales, lo que equivale a una disminución relativa del 11,8% y el 25,9%, respectivamente. Asimismo, se observa que las encuestas tienden a captar menos perceptores de transferencias no contributivas que los registros administrativos. Esta subcaptación, según se calcula para el caso del Brasil, puede llevar a subestimar el impacto de los programas, especialmente en los índices de severidad y profundidad de la pobreza.

This paper analyzes the relation between night lights and poverty rates in Chile using information derived from the US Earth Observations Group through the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), Day/Night Band. Official poverty data are modeled at the municipality level with a fractional multinomial logit model. Indicators of night lights are applied to the estimated model to predict poverty and extreme‐poverty rates of municipalities for which official data are not available, and estimates are aggregated at provincial, regional, and national levels using population data. Results are consistent with official estimates published for the year 2015 and can be effectively used for policy purposes to derive maps of poverty indices with a definition of 500 m2.

Las múltiples desigualdades económicas y sociales que caracterizan a los países de América Latina y el Caribe conspiran en contra de su desarrollo sostenible y tienen una relación directa con la actual crisis económica, social y sanitaria. La pandemia de la COVID-19 y la guerra en Ucrania, sumadas a las brechas estructurales, están dibujando una tormenta perfecta de bajo crecimiento, desocupación, elevada inflación, aumento de la pobreza, el hambre, la desigualdad, el malestar social y la polarización política. A esto hay que sumar los desafíos sociodemográficos que conllevan el rápido envejecimiento, la fuerte urbanización y la creciente inmigración irregular en la región. Sin embargo, la pandemia ha mostrado también cuán importantes son las políticas públicas para proteger a la población, sea por medio de la vacunación o de las transferencias monetarias de emergencia. Ahora es el momento de reconstruir con igualdad y sostenibilidad, apuntando a la creación de verdaderos Estados de bienestar, en los cuales suficientes niveles de tributación e inversión social permitan implementar políticas públicas universales y sensibles a las diferencias en materia de protección social, cuidado, salud, educación e inclusión digital.

Desde 2010 la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) ha puesto el tema de la igualdad en el centro del debate regional y ha promovido el papel de la protección social como política pública clave para el desarrollo inclusivo y sostenible en la región. Este artículo aborda el marco conceptual de la matriz de desigualdad social y analiza las tendencias regionales de las múltiples dimensiones de la desigualdad, así como las propuestas en materia de protección y política social elaboradas por la cepal en el periodo reciente. Si bien los países de la región han tenido algunos avances en cuanto a reducción de la desigualdad del ingreso, ésta sigue siendo una de las más altas del mundo y es acompañada por desigualdades en otras dimensiones, como las de género, edad, territorio, raza y etnia, estatus migratorio, condición de discapacidad, entre otras. Para enfrentar tales desigualdades y superar la pobreza desde un enfoque de derechos, la CEPAL propone establecer sistemas universales, integrales y sostenibles de protección social. La protección social universal es necesaria para lograr los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible “sin dejar a nadie atrás”, y representa una respuesta clave a la pandemia de Covid-19, la cual es necesaria para reconstruir con igualdad y sostenibilidad.

This study establishes a sociodemographic profile of children with disabilities, the majority of whom are living in poverty, and analyses non-contributory cash transfer programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean that cover or prioritize families with children or adolescents with disabilities. These programmes may be the gateway to the establishment of full inclusion routes for children and adolescents with disabilities and their families, both in the social and the labour sphere. While the region has seen an increase in the number of cash transfer programmes that cater to or prioritize families with children or adolescents with disabilities, there is a need for comprehensive action to ensure accessible services, strengthen selection tools as well as recipient registries and disability certification processes, and establish cash transfer amounts that cover all costs associated with childhood disability.

After more than a decade of progress in various areas of social development, since 2015 poverty has increased, labor market indicators have deteriorated, and the reduction of income inequality has stagnated in Latin America. These trends are of concern as they can affect health indicators and exacerbate profound health inequalities. This situation demands integrated policy responses that can create synergies between different sectors. There is growing recognition of the role of social protection in the eradication of poverty and the reduction of inequality. Various social protection mechanisms buffer against the costs of accessing health services directly and indirectly. By expanding coverage and universal access, promotion and prevention actions in health and nutrition, and fundamentally, the fight against poverty, inequality, and exclusion, social protection plays a fundamental role in guaranteeing the right to health and overcoming inequalities in this area. The reduction of inequalities in health should be a priority for all countries, and a way forward in that direction is to promote the construction and strengthening of universal social protection systems.

Ce document presente l’estimation du cout de la mise en place des transferts monetaires proposes dans le document de Politique Nationale de Protection et Promotion Sociales (PNPPS) en Haiti, promulguee le 12 juin 2020 et qui a pour but de faire reculer durablement la pauvrete, reduire les inegalites, et promouvoir l’autonomisation des Haitiennes et des Haitiens. Cet exercice considere le chiffrage de onze mecanismes de transferts monetaires pour faire face a differentes situations (enfance, maternite, travail de soins, vieillesse, situation de handicap, situation de choc, entre autres) selon differents groupes d’âge et zones geographiques et considere une periode de deploiement progressif de leur mise en place qui va de 2020 a 2030.

This document presents costings for the cash transfers proposed as part of the National Policy on Social Protection and Promotion (Politique nationale de protection et de promotion sociales, PNPPS) in Haiti, which aims to sustainably roll back poverty, reduce inequalities and empower Haitian men and women. The exercise estimates the cost of 11 cash transfer mechanisms designed to address different situations for different age groups and geographical areas, assuming a phase‐in period from 2020 to 2030.

Exclusion from the labour market and employment in low-productivity sectors —in poorly paid jobs that do not provide access to social protection— are an especially worrisome aspect of the cycle of reproduction of poverty and inequality. In recent years, the countries of the region have been introducing an increasing number of labour and productive inclusion programmes as it has become clear that cash transfers to families with children or older adults alone cannot break the vicious cycle of poverty and that not all working-age adults are equally at risk of unemployment or have the same opportunities for obtaining decent work, even during upswings in the business cycle (Rossel and Filgueira, 2015).

Social pensions are cash transfers provided by the State to older persons or persons with disabilities, and to others who have not been engaged with the formal labour market or have not contributed enough during their working life. They are intended to ensure coverage of basic needs through income transfer and, in some cases, to facilitate access to health services and food. Their provision is subject to age requirements, degree of disability and poverty status.