Political Science M.A. Student Duygu Sonat was accepted to 4th ECPR Graduate Student Conference to present her paper "Determinants of Social Benefit Allocation: The Case of Programa Jefes de Hogar Desocupados in Argentina" between July 4-6, 2012.
Abstract: This study investigates determinants of the variation in the geographic distribution of Programa Jefes de Hogar Desocupados (PJHD) benefits across Argentine provinces over the period 2002-2005 and suggests that manipulation of public policies in a province is not only a function of political incentives but also of incumbent parties’ capacity to monitor the responsiveness of the voters to material offers. By using a panel of 24 Argentine provinces for each month over the period 2002-2005, the quantitative analysis specifies the set of civil society organizations whose regular relationship with the incumbent party enhances the latter's capacity to monitor beneficiaries' voting behavior and; thereby, enables it to increase the scope of the program. Comparative case studies of four Argentine provinces take these probabilistic associations further by identifying necessary and sufficient conditions for the outcome variable to occur and by shedding light on the internal dynamics of this process. The conclusions drawn from the Argentine case are situated in comparative perspective in order to examine whether the interaction of political incentives and the linkages to civil society organizations can account for allocation patterns under similar cash transfer programs in the region; namely, Oportunidades in Mexico and Bolsa Familia in Brazil.