IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/padxxx/v42y2022i1p85-94.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Fairness” in an unequal society: Welfare workers, labor inspectors and the embedded moralities of street‐level bureaucracy in Argentina

Author

Listed:
  • Luisina Perelmiter

Abstract

This article advances a new argument on street‐level bureaucrats’ (SLBs) moral dilemmas in developing countries. Developing countries feature deeper and more pervasive social and economic inequalities than their developed counterparts. They also feature what I call a fragmented stateness: states whose legal and bureaucratic reach is functional and territorially unequal and that also have an ambiguous relationship with their own legality. This macro‐level force shapes daily bureaucratic encounters and SLBs’ moral dilemmas and practices in ways that the literature has not fully grasped. I found that the awareness of this fragmented stateness implies a kind of structural experience of arbitrariness in bureaucratic encounters that makes the exercise of fair judgments in the implementation of policies elusive. I ground my argument in an ethnographic account of bureaucratic encounters in different arenas of the Argentinean social protection system: welfare provision and labor inspection. By reconstructing the connections between fragmented stateness and state workers’ moral dilemmas, this article presents a novel and empirically grounded theoretical argument on an often‐overlooked dimension of collective regulation of conflicts and judgments at the state frontlines.

Suggested Citation

  • Luisina Perelmiter, 2022. "“Fairness” in an unequal society: Welfare workers, labor inspectors and the embedded moralities of street‐level bureaucracy in Argentina," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(1), pages 85-94, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:padxxx:v:42:y:2022:i:1:p:85-94
    DOI: 10.1002/pad.1954
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1954
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/pad.1954?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lucas Ronconi, 2010. "Enforcement and Compliance with Labor Regulations in Argentina," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(4), pages 719-736, July.
    2. Michael J. Piore, 2011. "Beyond Markets: Sociology, street‐level bureaucracy, and the management of the public sector," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(1), pages 145-164, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David Jancsics & Salvador Espinosa & Jonathan Carlos, 2023. "Organizational noncompliance: an interdisciplinary review of social and organizational factors," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 1273-1301, September.
    2. Gustavo Henrique de Andrade & Miriam Bruhn & David McKenzie, 2016. "A Helping Hand or the Long Arm of the Law? Experimental Evidence on What Governments Can Do to Formalize Firms," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 30(1), pages 24-54.
    3. Viollaz, Mariana, 2016. "Enforcement of Labor Market Regulations: Heterogeneous Compliance and Adjustment across Gender," MPRA Paper 72000, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Haroon Bhorat & Ravi Kanbur & Natasha Mayet, 2012. "Estimating the Causal Effect of Enforcement on Minimum Wage Compliance: The Case of S outh A frica," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 608-623, November.
    5. Ronconi, Lucas & Zarazaga S.J., Rodrigo, 2015. "Labor Exclusion and the Erosion of Citizenship Responsibilities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 453-461.
    6. Rita K. Almeida & Z. Bilgen Susanlı, 2012. "Firing Regulations and Firm Size in the Developing World: Evidence from Differential Enforcement," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 540-558, November.
    7. Casanova, Luis. & Jiménez, Maribel. & Jiménez, Mónica., 2015. "Calidad del empleo y cumplimiento del salario mínimo en Argentina," ILO Working Papers 994891263402676, International Labour Organization.
    8. Lucas Ronconi & Jorge Colina, 2011. "Simplificación del registro laboral en Argentina: Logros obtenidos y problemas pendientes," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 53678, Inter-American Development Bank.
    9. Ronconi, Lucas & Colina, Jorge, 2011. "Simplificación del registro laboral en Argentina: Logros obtenidos y problemas pendientes," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3799, Inter-American Development Bank.
    10. Abramo, Laís, 2022. "Policies to address the challenges of existing and new forms of informality in Latin America," Políticas Sociales 47774, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    11. Andrea Garnero, 2018. "The dog that barks doesn’t bite: coverage and compliance of sectoral minimum wages in Italy," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-24, December.
    12. Martín Gonzalez Rozada & Lucas Ronconi & Hernan Ruffo, 2011. "Protecting Workers against Unemployment in Latin America and the Caribbean: Evidence from Argentina," Research Department Publications 4759, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    13. Matthew Amengual & Janice Fine, 2017. "Co‐enforcing Labor standards: the unique contributions of state and worker organizations in Argentina and the United States," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), pages 129-142, June.
    14. Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati & Artur Tamazian, 2017. "Are Left-Wing Governments Really Pro-Labor? An Empirical Investigation for Latin America," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 129-160, February.
    15. Ravi KANBUR & Lucas RONCONI, 2018. "Enforcement matters: The effective regulation of labour," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 157(3), pages 331-356, September.
    16. Gudibande, Rohan Ravindra & Jacob, Arun, 2020. "Minimum wages for domestic workers: impact evaluation of the Indian experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    17. Adriana Camacho & Emily Conover & Alejandro Hoyos, 2014. "Effects of Colombia's Social Protection System on Workers' Choice between Formal and Informal Employment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(3), pages 446-466.
    18. Roxana Maurizio, 2015. "Transitions to Formality and Declining Inequality: Argentina and Brazil in the 2000s," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 46(5), pages 1047-1079, September.
    19. Bertranou, Fabio M. & Casanova, Luis. & Sarabia, Marianela., 2013. "Dónde, cómo y por qué se redujo la informalidad laboral en Argentina durante el período 2003-2012," ILO Working Papers 994845903402676, International Labour Organization.
    20. Spyros Skouras & Nicos Christodoulakis, 2014. "Electoral misgovernance cycles: evidence from wildfires and tax evasion in Greece," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 533-559, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:padxxx:v:42:y:2022:i:1:p:85-94. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0271-2075 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.