Progress Against Poverty: Sustaining Mexico's Progresa-Oportunidades Program

(Paperback)

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In 1997, Mexico launched a revolutionary program to combat poverty. Initially named Progresa and now known as Oportunidades, it has become an important example of a sustainable and scalable poverty reduction strategy in the developing world. In Progress against Poverty, Santiago Levythe main architect of Progresa-Oportunidadesoffers his unique perspective on the development of the program, the reasons for its success, the challenges it faces, and its applicability in other nations. Its approach is innovative: the program dispenses money directly to poor householdsa change from the traditional method of providing subsidized necessities through intermediaries. However, the cash transfers are contingent on the recipients investments in their own health, nutrition, and education.

Reviews

"Santiago Levy is well placed to write about Mexico's flagship anti-poverty programme, PROGRESA/Oportunidades. As its principal architect, and as minister with responsibility for its implementation, he was among the pioneers of a new approach to poverty relief known today by the acronym CCT, or Conditional Cash Transfers. Levy provides an insider's account of the origins and evolution of his programme...[his] book is a welcome contribution to the debate over the effectiveness of current approaches to poverty." Maxine Molyneux, Institutte for the Study of the Americas, University of London, Journal of Latin American Studies

Author Bio

"Santiago Levy is former general director of the Mexican Social Security Institute. From 1994 to 2000, he served as deputy minister of finance in Mexico and was the main architect of the Progresa-Oportunidades program."