Paper short abstract:

This paper will look at the transformations of the conditional cash transfer programmes of Ecuador and Chile. It will explore the institutional and discursive factors shaping these transformations as well as the different approaches to development these transfrmations may be reflecting in each case.

Paper long abstract:

Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) emerged and expanded in Latin America at the turn of the century, in the context of the crisis of neoliberalism in the region in which the levels of poverty and extreme poverty were a major concern. Ecuador and Chile were no exception and in 2003 both countries launched this type of social protection programmes whereby direct transfers of money are granted monthly to households under the condition that their children attend school and/or regular health checks. As the decade went by, poverty and extreme poverty improved in both countries and several attempts were made to reform, transform and even supersede these programmes. It will be argued in this paper that, as was the case at the moments of design and reform of these programmes, the interplay between institutions and political discourse is playing a crucial role in shaping the possibilities of transforming and superseding these programmes. Despite the CCTs in Ecuador and Chile being designed with similar technical features, the findings on which this paper is based suggest that these programmes were transformed differently in these countries. The differences in the redefinitions of Ecuador and Chile CCTs seem to be reflecting the emergence of two strikingly diverse approaches to development, poverty and exclusion in current Latin America that could be marking the beginning of the end of CCTs in the region.