This book examines change within continuity and analyzes stability within revolution. It focuses on uneven rate of development among the political, economic, and social realms of revolutionary life in socialist Cuba; on the implications of the changes unleashed by the Third Party Congress in 1986.

Los cubanos no pueden cambiar el pasado, pero pueden escoger su futuro (...) En el siglo XXI, marcado por los procesos de globalizacion, Cuba tendra que avanzar de forma sistematica y permanente hacia formulas legales que acomoden la creciente transnacionalidad de su poblacion. Aunque situada en diferentes espacios geograficos, la poblacion radicada en la Isla tiene y desarrolla vinculos cada vez mas estrechos con su diaspora, formando ambas un todo indivisible: la nacion cubana. (Fragmento de La Diaspora Cubana en el Siglo XXI ) A lo largo del segundo semestre de 2011, La Diaspora Cubana en el Siglo XXI fue presentado ante el Interamerican Dialogue en Washington, en la Ermita de la Caridad del Cobre en Miami y en el Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas (CIDE) en Mexico. Numerosos medios de comunicacion y agencias internacionales de noticias se han referido a este singular y actualizado examen del tema migratorio en Cuba. Estas encuestas e investigaciones sirven al bien de nuestra comunidad y de nuestro pueblo que, a pesar de las divisiones, sigue siendo un solo pueblo. S. Exc. Rvdma. Mons. Thomas G. Wenski Arzobispo de Miami El texto aporta una vision de como, bajo ciertas circunstancias, el conjunto de la Nacion -compuesta por los residentes en la Isla y el exterior- puede trabajar para proteger y desarrollar el bienestar de las familias cubanas. Dra. Cristina Eguizabal Directora del Centro Latinoamericano y del Caribe de la Universidad Internacional de la Florida

The reform of social security pensions and healthcare is a key issue for the modern world, and in many ways Latin America has acted as a social laboratory for the reform of these systems. From the reforms that took place in Chile in 1981, most pension and health care systems in the region have seen reform, and been fully or partially privatized. Many other countries considering reform of their own systems have been influenced by the policies implemented in Latin America. Yet despite the importance and influence of these reforms, until now there has not been an integrated and comprehensive analysis of the changes and their effects. This book is the result of four years of painstaking work, data collection, field research, and international collaboration, and so fills the vacuum in the literature with a systematic comparison of pension and healthcare reforms in the 20 Latin American countries. It identifies reform models, and elaborates taxonomies to facilitate their understanding and comparison. Some key features of the reforms to emerge are: labour force and population coverage, equity and solidarity, sufficiency and quality of benefits, state regulation, competition and degree of privatization, efficiency and administrative costs, social participation in management, financing sources and long-term sustainability. Effects of the reforms on social security principles are measured based on recent standardized statistics and other information. Goals or assumptions of the reforms are contrasted with actual outcomes, and the pros and cons of private versus private provision assessed. Detailed policy recommendations are offered to correct current problems and improve pension and healthcare systems. This is the first book to comprehensively study these influential reforms in Latin America's pension and health care systems, and as such will be of importance to academics and researchers interested in social security and welfare policy, pensions, health care, and public policy; social security, pension, and health care policy-makers; and social security, pension, and health care consultants and practitioners.

In 1990, Carmelo Mesa-Lago, the foremost authority on social security in Latin America, concluded that all of the region's programs were imperiled, especially those in the most advanced nations. His study of twenty countries, originally sponsored by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, critically reviews major financial problems, low and uneven population coverage, erosion in benefits, increasing costs, and the impact of social security on development.
In words that eerily echo current U.S. debates, Mesa-Lago analyzes virtually all social insurance programs: old age, disability and survivors' pensions; health care; occupational hazards; family allowances; and unemployment. For social security specialists, this impressive study will serve as a comprehensive regional handbook on the legal, administrative, and financial features of Latin America's programs. Students of comparative policy and applied economics will find Mesa-Lago's methodology, analytical framework, and policy recommendations invaluable.

How can we determine which economic model best provides for economic development and social welfare? In this major comparative work, noted economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago analyzes three Latin American countries with divergent economic systems: Chile (a market economy), Cuba (socialist), and Costa Rica (mixed). He examines their economic and social policies, shows how these policies affect performance based on a set of socioeconomic variables, and ranks the countries among themselves (using new techniques) and in comparison with international indicators. The time frame of the study embraces thirty-eight years for Costa Rica (under the democratic social democracy) and Cuba (under the socialist revolution) and twenty-four years for Chile (under Pinochet and the return to democracy). Mesa-Lago focuses on the three diverse socioeconomic models that these countries represent during these periods.

The reform of social security pensions and healthcare is a key issue for the modern world, and in many ways Latin America has acted as a social laboratory for the reform of these systems. From the reforms that took place in Chile in 1981, most pension and health care systems in the region have seen reform, and been fully or partially privatized. Many other countries considering reform of their own systems have been influenced by the policies implemented in Latin America. Yet despite the importance and influence of these reforms, until now there has not been an integrated and comprehensive analysis of the changes and their effects. This book is the result of four years of painstaking work, data collection, field research and international collaboration, and so fills the vacuum in the literature with a systematic comparison of pension and healthcare reforms in the 20 Latin American countries. It identifies reform models, and elaborates taxonomies to facilitate their understanding and comparison. Some key features of the reforms to emerge are: labour force and population coverage, equity and solidarity, sufficiency and quality of benefits, state regulation, competition and degree of privatization, efficiency and administrative costs, social participation in management, financing sources and long-term sustainability. Effects of the reforms on social security principles are measured based on recent standardized statistics and other information. Goals or assumptions of the reforms are contrasted with actual outcomes, and the pros and cons of private versus private provision assessed. Detailed policy recommendations are offered to correct current problems and improve pension and healthcare systems. This is the first book to comprehensively study these influential reforms in Latin America's pension and health care systems, and as such will be of importance to academics and researchers interested in social security and welfare policy, pensions, health care, and public policy; Social security, pension, and health care policy-makers; And social security, pension, and health care consultants and practitioners. Published in association with PAHO

A comprehensive and sophisticated study of the relationship between social security policy and inequality in Latin America. Individual case studies of Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Argentina, and Mexico are presented, that provide a historical analysis of each country's social security policy, the pressure groups involved, the present structure of the systems, and a statistical examination of the inequality among these pressure groups.

"The editors have merged work from two disciplines, economics and political science; in a summary conclusion, a sociologist suggests possible extensions in the comparison of socialist systems for the future. . . . contributes generously to the field."—Slavic Review

More than one million Cubans, representing thirty percent of the country's labor force, currently make up the nonstate sector. These include self-employed workers and micro-entrepreneurs, sharecropping farmers, members of new cooperatives, and buyers and sellers of private dwellings. This development represents a crucial structural reform implemented by Raul Castro since becoming Cuba's leader in 2006, and may become the most dynamic economic force for the country's future. Despite this phenomenon, little has been published about the demographic makeup of this group (age, gender, race, and education), as well as their economic conditions and aspirations. Based on eighty in-depth interviews recently conducted in Cuba, this book captures actual voices from this evolving economic sector. It details workers' level of satisfaction with what they do and earn, profits (and how they are allocated between consumption and investment), plans to expand their activities, receiving foreign remittances and microcredit, competition, forms of advertising, and payment of taxes. Perhaps most revealing are the speakers' views on the obstacles they face and their desires for change and improvement. As such, the book offers fascinating insights into today's Cuban economy from the nonstate sector, while also reflecting on its potential for development and the obstacles it faces.