Abstract This article analyses the implementation of emergency cash transfer policies during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in four decentralized political systems: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain, focusing on how different institutional capacities shaped policy effectiveness. The study examines key dimensions such as digital infrastructure, intergovernmental coordination, pre-existing social protection systems, and fiscal effort to assess the factors that determined the scope and impact of these policies. The findings suggest that state capacity was crucial in shaping outcomes: while digital infrastructure emerged as a necessary condition for effective implementation, it was not sufficient on its own. Likewise, intergovernmental coordination played a decisive role in federal systems, with cooperative governance models yielding better implementation outcomes. Using a qualitative comparative analysis, the study identifies different pathways to successful policy implementation, highlighting the importance of administrative flexibility and institutional adaptation in crisis contexts. The results contribute to the literature on state capacity and crisis governance, offering insights for designing resilient social protection systems. The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic functioned as a natural experiment that tested the limits of social policy implementation and catalysed institutional innovations, some of which could have long-term implications for welfare states in Latin America and Southern Europe.
Nelson Cardozo (Thu,) studied this question.