This work explains the causes of social policy reform in Chile and Uruguay in the areas of health care, pensions and education. Until the 1970s, Chile and Uruguay shared striking similarities.

This work explains the causes of social policy reform in Chile and Uruguay in the areas of health care, pensions and education. Until the 1970s, Chile and Uruguay shared striking similarities. They had the most universalistic and redistributive social protection systems of Latin America, their schemes were extremely costly and continued to develop even after economic recessions. Both countries faced significant fiscal deficits and demographic changes posed additional challenges to their systems. Both experienced democratic breakdowns in 1973.