Unemployment and Clientelism: The Piqueteros of Argentina

Ponce, Aldo Fernando (2006): Unemployment and Clientelism: The Piqueteros of Argentina.

Abstract

This paper sheds light on possible explanations for the growth and endurance of the piquetero social movement in Argentina, developed from a comparative perspective based on Latin America. I show which institutional arrangements, political actors, and configurations of power contributed to the success of the piqueteros. Applying the basic principles of the rational choice approach, I find that the success of the piquetero movement was produced by the current political division in the ruling party (the Peronist party), by the over-regulated Argentine labor market, and by the impact of the Argentine economic crisis through the unemployment rates.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Institution: University of Connecticut
• Language: English
• Keywords: unemployment; social movements; federalism; institutions; unions; Argentina
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General > J01 - Labor Economics: General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J5 - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining > J50 - General; H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations; H - Public Economics > H4 - Publicly Provided Goods > H41 - Public Goods; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H72 - State and Local Budget and Expenditures; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J5 - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining; H - Public Economics > H4 - Publicly Provided Goods; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H77 - Intergovernmental Relations ; Federalism ; Secession

References

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