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Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America

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Inequality and Growth: Patterns and Policy

Part of the book series: International Economics Association ((IEA))

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?

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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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tulane University, USA

    Nora Lustig

  2. The World Bank, USA

    Luis F. Lopez-Calva

  3. Tulane University and UNDP, USA

    Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez

  4. United Nations Industrial Development Organization, USA

    Célestin Monga

Authors
  1. Nora Lustig
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  2. Luis F. Lopez-Calva
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  3. Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez
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  4. Célestin Monga
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. World Bank, Washington DC, USA

    Kaushik Basu (Chief Economist) (Chief Economist)

  2. Columbia University, New York, USA

    Joseph E. Stiglitz (University Professor) (University Professor)

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© 2016 International Economic Association

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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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