Significant fiscal redistribution in Latin America has also been achieved through in-kind transfers, such as the provision of health and education services provided cost-free or at a low cost. Social protection in this region differs from other developing regions in terms of coverage, quality and level of assistance. Until the late 1990s, formal social protection schemes covered, on average, less than 5 per cent of the workforce (Palacios and Pallares-Millares, 2000).