Abstract
High inequality is a characteristic feature of Latin America. After rising in the 1990s, however, income inequality in the region has declined while it has increased in other parts of the world. For the region as a whole, the Gini co efficient declined from an average of 0.550 in the early 2000s to 0.496 circa 2012. Of the 18 countries with available data, 16 experienced a decline in their Gini coefficient during this period. What explains this remarkable shift in inequality trends in Latin America?
Keywords
- Income Inequality
- Minimum Wage
- Tertiary Education
- Gini Coefficient
- Latin American Country
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
An earlier version of this chapter appeared in Spanish in “Los determinantes de la disminución de la desigualdad en América Latina,” in Devlin, Robert, Oscar A. Echeverría and José Luis Machinea, editors, América Latina en una era de globalización. Ensayos en honor de Enrique V. Iglesias, Edición Cero, CAF, Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina, 2014.
The authors would like to thank Eduardo Levy-Yeyati and Norbert R. Schady, who provided very useful comments to an earlier draft.
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Lustig, N., Lopez-Calva, L.F., Ortiz-Juarez, E., Monga, C. (2016). Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America. In: Basu, K., Stiglitz, J.E. (eds) Inequality and Growth: Patterns and Policy. International Economics Association. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137554598_7
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