Public transfers by age: a comparison between 1994 and 2006 (Uruguay)

Marisa Bucheli, Universidad de la República, Uruguay
Cecilia González, Universidad de la República, Uruguay
Cecilia Olivieri, Universidad de la República, Uruguay

In Uruguay people older than 60 years old are 18% of the population whereas children under 14 are 22%. Pensions program boast a long tradition. They cover 90% of the elderly and expenditure in pensions is 15% of GDP. On the other hand, public spending to children has traditionally had rather lower levels. In this context, in the last fifteen years the high poverty head count ratio for children has been a motive of concern. In the middle of the nineties, the government implemented a social security reform and expanded programs targeted to children. The purpose of this paper is to compare the age profile of net public transfers before and after these reforms. Specifically, we use the National Transfers Accounts (NTA) system to compare 1994 and 2006 profiles. We expect that the (positive) difference between per capita public transfers to children and to elderly persons declines, though slightly.