Targeting and Universalization as Instruments for the Reduction of Inequalities
The targeting vs. universalization debate takes place throughout Latin-America, from countries such as Chile and Colombia ? whose social policy agendas tend to be dominated by targeting strategies ? to Costa Rica, where social policies tend to favor universalization. An important lesson to be extracted from these diverse experiences is that what prevents a consensus in this issue are not ideological differences or different conceptions of distributive justice, but a certain degree of confusion in terms of concepts and fundamentals.
In a recent study, we attempt to contribute to clarify the discussion of targeting and universalization by analyzing fundamental theoretical, ethical, analytical, and empirical concepts involved. We believe that by defining precisely these concepts we may also contribute to the development of more effective social policies to fight inequality and poverty. More specifically, in this study we explore the relationship between targeting, universalization and the effective combat of inequality.
Last updated: 04/26/07
