Abstract
This article examines how the COVID-19 pandemic and Chile’s Emergency Family Income (IFE) reshaped households in the Social Household Registry (RSH). Using administrative data (2016–2021), we analyze the emergence of "new" and "disaggregated" households—those newly registered or formed by splitting from existing units—compared to stable ones. Findings show that the IFE’s expansion toward universality coincided with a dramatic increase in registered households, particularly small, single-person units with younger, economically active members. We argue these transformations were strategic responses to eligibility rules rather than merely demographic shifts. This experience reveals how crisis-driven transfers expose the limits of hyper-targeted welfare models and mobilize household adaptation strategies. Our study contributes to Latin American social policy debates by questioning the viability of extreme targeting and highlighting the need for more inclusive, responsive income protection systems (142).
Este artículo examina cómo la pandemia de COVID-19 y el Ingreso Familiar de Emergencia (IFE) en Chile transformaron los hogares del Registro Social de Hogares (RSH). Mediante datos administrativos (2016–2021), analizamos la aparición de hogares "nuevos" y "disregados" —aquellos que se registraron recientemente o se separaron de unidades existentes— frente a los estables. Los resultados muestran que la expansion del IFE coincidió con un aumento drástico de hogares registrados, principalmente unidades unipersonales con miembros jóvenes y económicamente activos. Sostenemos que estas transformaciones fueron respuestas estratégicas a las reglas de elegibilidad y no solo cambios demográficos. El IFE revela cómo las transferencias en crisis exponen los límites de la focalización extrema e impulsan estrategias de adaptación familiar. Estos hallazgos aportan al debate sobre reformas sociales en América Latina, cuestionando la viabilidad
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