Personal profile
Biography
Armando Barrientos [BA PhD, Kent] is Emeritus Professor of Poverty and Social Justice at the Global Development Institute. He is also co-Director of the International Research Initiative on Brazil and Africa. Before joining BWPI in 2007, he was Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex and Senior Lecturer in Public Economics and Development at the Institute of Development Policy and Management at Manchester.
His work has been published widely, including articles in World Development, Applied Economics, The Manchester School and Journal of Development Studies. His most recent books are ‘Social Protection for the Poor and Poorest’ (2008, edited with D. Hulme, Palgrave); ‘Just Give Money to the Poor’ (2010, with J. Hanlon and D. Hulme, Kumarian Press); ‘Demographics, Employment and Old Age Security: Emerging Trends and Challenges in South Asia’ (2010, edited with Moneer Alam, MacMillan), and ‘Social Assistance in Developing Countries’ (2013, Cambridge University Press).
He has acted as an adviser to the ILO, the World Bank, DFID, UNRISD, IADB, WIEGO, UN-DESA, UNICEF, and the Caribbean Development Bank.
Research interests
My research interests focus on the linkages existing between welfare programmes and labour markets and on emerging welfare institutions in developing countries. Early research examined the reform of social insurance institutions in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s, and especially their impact on employment, informality and old age income security. This work led to research on the economic and social effects of ageing in developing countries and the role of non-contributory pension as a means to address old age poverty and vulnerability. More recently, I have focused on social assistance in developing countries, exploring the rapid expansion of antipoverty transfer programmes in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Current work studies emerging tax-transfer systems in low- and middle-income countries.
Research Projects
Brazil’s economics success: Lessons for Africa (with Ed Amann) – This research programme investigates Brazil’s economic growth and poverty and inequality reduction in the 1995-2005 period and policy lessons for African countries. See website at http://www.brazil4africa.org
Gender and employment in Central Asia: Evidence from panel data – (led by SIPRI) this project studies women and labour markets in Kyrgyzstan and the impact of social policies.See website at https://www.sipri.org/research/conflict-and-peace/peace-and-development/asia/gender-marginalization-and-insecurity/gender-and-employment-central-asia
Building the case for investments in social protection in Uganda - Consortium including Makarere, Manchester, and Maastricht Universities studying the economic and social effects of antipoverty transfers. See website at http://www.merit.unu.edu/building-the-economic-case-for-investments-in-social-protection-in-uganda/
Improving research infrastructure in social assistance - Two year (2016-2018) project developing a database of social assistance programmes in low- and middle-income countries to support comparative research on emerging welfare institutions. See website at http://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/themes/growth-inequality-and-poverty/improving-research-infrastructure-in-social-assistance/
Tax-transfer systems in Latin America – This project assesses taxes and transfers in Latin American countries, focusing on distributional effects and fiscal contracts.
Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms
- Digital Futures
- Global Development Institute
- Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
-
SDG 1 No Poverty
-
SDG 2 Zero Hunger
-
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
-
SDG 4 Quality Education
-
SDG 5 Gender Equality
-
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
-
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
-
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
-
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
-
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
-
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
-
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Global Inequality and Global Governance
Barrientos, A. & Malerba, D., Sept 2025, Justice in Global Economic Governance: Normative and Empirical Perspective on Promoting Fairer Globalisation. Berger, A., Brandi, C. & Kollar, E. (eds.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, p. 249-257 9 p. (Studies in Global Justice and Human Rights).Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
-
Social Protection in Latin America: Causality, Stratification and Outcomes
Barrientos, A., 19 Apr 2024, Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. 293 p. (Global Dynamics of Social Policy)Research output: Book/Report › Book
Open Access -
The Politics of Social Protection in Latin America
Barrientos, A., 1 Oct 2024, The Politics of Welfare in the Global South. Biswas, S. D., Sambo, C. G. & Pellissery, S. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 246-269 24 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
-
Latin Amerika’Daki Tabakali Sosyal Koruma Kurumlari
Barrientos, A., 8 Dec 2023, Çoklu Krizler Çağinda Yoksulluk. Yükseker, D., Inci, Ö. K. & Neşe, Ş. T. (eds.). Istanbul: Nika Yayinevi, p. 59-78 20 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding › Chapter
-
Social Assistance in Low- and Middle-income countries
Barrientos, A., 23 May 2023, Research Handbook on Poverty and Inequality. Wagle, U. R. (ed.). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, p. 350-366 17 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Projects
- 2 Finished
-
Improving research infrastructure on social assistance in low and middle income countries
Barrientos, A. (PI)
1/05/16 → 30/04/18
Project: Research
-
The Brazilian Development Model for Africa: Evidence and Lessons
Amann, E. (PI) & Barrientos, A. (CoI)
1/09/13 → 31/12/16
Project: Research
Impacts
-
Direct Cash Transfers as an Antipoverty Instrument for the Extreme and Chronic Poor
Barrientos, A. (Participant), Hulme, D. (Participant) & Hickey, S. (Participant)
Impact: Economic impacts, Political impacts
Datasets
-
Social Assistance in Low and Middle Income Countries
Barrientos, A. (Creator), University of Manchester, Aug 2018
http://www.social-assistance.manchester.ac.uk
Dataset
Press/Media
-
BLOOMBERG: Helicopter Money Won’t Ease Latin America’s Pandemic Pain
7/05/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment