The first decade of the twenty-first century has been intriguing for students of social policy in Latin America. Social indicators have moved in the right direction with unexpected consistency. Poverty headcount rates have fallen by one third from the peak level of 1990. Extreme poverty headcount rates have fallen faster. More recently, inequality seems to be in decline. Income inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, fell by as much as 10 per cent in Brazil in the last decade. Most commentators agree that social policy has had an important role in driving these reductions in poverty and inequality. Significantly, public perceptions agree with this assessment. Across the region, there is strong political support for innovative social policies addressing poverty and social exclusion. The turn to the left in Latin American governments has been a factor in driving more inclusive social policies, but researchers are divided on the strength of this relationship. Right of centre governments have also implemented innovative social policies, while some left of centre governments have reverted to the clientelistic social policies of old.

Against this background, Huber and Stephens’ book is hugely welcomed. Drawing on their influential analysis of the development and change of welfare states, they provide a thorough and rigorous analysis of the role of politics and democracy in providing the foundations for the resurgence of social policy in Latin America.

The authors adapt and apply a version of the power resources approach, developed to study European welfare states, to conditions in Latin America countries. Their ‘power constellations theory’ pays attention to the distribution of power at three levels: domestic class politics, the balance of state and society and the international dimension. They carefully identify and discuss the distinctiveness of political regimes in Latin American countries and adapt their approach accordingly. The research reported in the book relies on a mix of cross-country panel analysis to identify broad relationships between variables, and insightful country case studies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay to establish causality. In addition, the book compares Latin American social policy development with trends in Spain and Portugal.

They demonstrate the significance of politics in explaining the structure of social policy regimes in the region. The book has two main conclusions. First, democracy is essential for constructing more inclusive social polices capable of addressing inequality. Second, the impact of democracy on inequality is not instantaneous. For Latin American countries, twenty years of sustained democracy are required for countries to secure strong and effective social policies capable of influencing inequality. These findings persuade the authors that sustained democratisation in Latin America is paving the way for a step change in their social policy regime.

The book takes a long-term view of social policy development in Latin America, linking social policy to production regimes and resulting political coalitions. Two main periods are identified. The first period centres on import-substitution-industrialisation policies which supported a coalition of urban elites and industrial workers and led to Bismarckian social insurance funds restricted to formal workers and heavily underwritten by state subsidies. The second period, beginning in 1980, was dominated initially by structural adjustment and authoritarianism, leading to social policy retrenchment, but recovery from neoliberal reforms is characterised by rising social expenditure and an expansion of social assistance transfers to low income groups. Cross-country panel regressions suggest that democratisation, but particularly the length of democratic spells, are significantly correlated with falling poverty and inequality. Detailed country cases studies discuss the role of parties and coalitions in shaping social policies. The comparison with Iberian countries helps to identify the significant role of supranational factors, the European Union, in driving social policy reforms.

The book will be particularly valuable to welfare state researchers seeking to understand developments in Latin America. The authors find that the power constellations approach ‘travels well to the topic of the development of social policy regimes in Latin America’ (p. 268). The analysis in the book will provide a helpful bridge between the welfare state literature and the analysis of social policy regimes in Latin America. The inclusion of Spain and Portugal in the book further cements this intellectual bridge.

Few if any grumbles are warranted. The country case studies focus on Latin American countries with more advanced social policy institutions. Regional specialists would welcome some discussion of whether the main findings in the book can be extended to lower income countries in the region.

The book is a must read for researchers in comparative social policy, inter alia because of the light it throws on recent development in social policy in Latin America and also because of the contribution it makes to enriching the analytical tools available for comparative social policy. The book will be influential beyond comparative social policy as a persuasive reminder that politics shapes social policy institutions.