¿Cuánto pueden condicionar las condicionalidades? Evidencia sobre las asignaciones familiares de argentina y Uruguay

This article analyzes the causal mechanism that underlies conditional cash transfers, based on analysis of the implementation processes of the Universal Pay for Children of Argentina and the Family Allowances Regime (Equity Plan) of Uruguay. We carry out an in-depth study of how conditionalities are communicated to the recipients of both policies, how they are understood by them, and how noncompliance is sanctioned. The comparison between Argentina and Uruguay shows how each policy focuses on different stages of implementation. This accounts for two different ways of implementing conditionalities, each of which alters the causal chain through which conditionalities could modify recipients’ behavior. The analysis questions the expectation that conditionalities can modify recipients’ behavior and seeks to understand conditions under which such an expectation is reasonable.