Argentina’s Social Policy Response to Covid-19: Protecting Income and Employment

Abstract

Argentina’s initial social policy response to Covid-19 focused on protecting employment, wages and basic living conditions. Key policies included cash transfers and food programs for vulnerable families, wage subsidies for private sector workers and subsidized loans for firms and self-employed workers. The government also dictated a set of new regulations on employment, prices and housing, among others, to reduce the social costs of the pandemic. This paper offers an overview of Argentine social policy response measures taken up until September 2020. It focuses on the social policy instruments specifically oriented to the most vulnerable workers and families, including a new cash transfer program for adults with no regular income (Emergency Family Income or IFE), reaching about 8.6 million people in the first round. Overall, Argentina’s social policy response involved multiple instruments aimed to operate on several fronts; however, the social and economic costs remain very high and are still unfolding.