Beyond Formal Coverage: The True Reach of Family Policies in Latin America

ABSTRACT Family policies are crucial for supporting population well‐being, yet conventional comparative analyses often fail to capture their true reach and effectiveness, particularly in developing regions. This paper develops a novel approach to evaluating family policies in Latin America. Using data from 2002 and 2022 for 17 Latin American countries, we compare statutory provisions with adjusted indicators that account for implementation constraints across three key domains: maternity leave, childcare services and cash benefits for families with children. We find substantial disparities between formal frameworks and effective implementation due to high labour informality limiting maternity leave access, resource constraints affecting childcare service quality, and insufficient transfer amounts in cash benefit programmes. While most countries have improved their formal policy frameworks, our composite index reveals that gains in effective policy reach remain modest, with particularly stark gaps in countries facing structural barriers. Only a few countries—notably Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, and Costa Rica—maintain strong performances in both statutory and adjusted measures. These findings underscore the importance of addressing structural constraints alongside policy development to expand family policies' actual reach and impact in the region.