Abstract

In this paper I examine regional social policy in the Southern Cone Common Market, the Caribbean Community, the Andean Community, and the Central American Integration System, all of the sub-regions in which the European Union has played a politically and economically supportive role in regional social integration. To what extent have these Latin American and Caribbean sub-regional organizations adopted policies to promote social redistribution and social rights? What have been the outcomes of the implementation of these policies? How has the European Union supported social integration in Latin American and the Caribbean? I review primary documents of the four sub-regional organizations, and European Union programs designed to support social integration in the Americas. I then analyze social indicators from the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, and the International Labor Organization and argue that there has been a remarkable increase in the adoption of regional social policies, the outcomes of which are statistically significant in the areas of poverty, inequality, healthcare, and unemployment.