| The study had as its main objective the exploration and description of the policy-making processes that took place in Puerto Rico for the establishment of social insurance covering the risks of old-age, death, and unemployment. The objective of the study responds to the need of identifying the forces which shape the inception of social security policies, particularly social insurance policies.;Sources of information were the review of literature, the focused interview through a structured questionnaire, and the study of available records. The questionnaire was administered to forty-three actors. Strategic informant sampling was used for the selection of the interviewees.;The findings tend to reinforce the thesis which sustains that the underlying forces behind the inception of social security policies have to do with the socio-politico-economic structure of the society. An interplay of economic, political, juridical, and ideological forces propitiated both policies. Of these forces, the main ones have been the political and economic. The relationship between Puerto Rico and the USA appeared as highly determinant in the policy-making processes.;The main actor in those processes was the State. The role of interest or pressure groups was marginal. The role of the political parties was instrumental. Decisions were basically taken by state and political elites. Within the state elite: top executive, administrative, and parliamentary officials. Within the political elite: top leaders of the political parties. Concentration of political power was also found through overlapping of memberships, positions, and roles of the actors.;Why were social insurance policies covering the risks of old-age, death and unemployment established in Puerto Rico in the decade of the 1950's, constituted the major research question. Three variables were studied: the social context in which the policy-making processes took place, the policy-making processes, and actors who participated in those processes. The social context was studied using a historical approach. The policy-making processes were examined using Dahl's decisional method. A combination of methods, from an elitist perspective, was used to study the actors.;The study has produced hypotheses, relevant to all those interested in social policy-making. |
