The Microfoundations of Latin America's Social Policy Coalitions: The Insider/Outsider Labor Divide and Attitudes toward Different Welfare Programs in Mexico

Abstract

abstract :In Latin America, formal workers (labor insiders) and informal workers (outsiders) tend to be enrolled in distinct welfare programs, so scholars generally assume that a fundamental political cleavage pits insiders against outsiders. According to a meta-analysis reported in this article, however, survey-based studies have hitherto shown the two groups to have relatively similar social policy preferences. The article seeks to reconcile these two strains by arguing that the insider/outsider binary oversimplifies the reality of Latin American labor markets. Workers' frequent movement between the two sectors as well as marriages between informal and formal workers endow many individuals with mixed policy interests. Using an original and nationally representative poll of Mexican adults, this article shows that an insider/outsider attitudinal cleavage does exist but is widest between informal and formal workers without mixed interests. The article also shows how new survey questions that improve on previous measures produce stronger relationships between labor traits and attitudes. The findings have implications for the study of social policy coalitions and insider/outsider politics in Latin America and beyond.