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Latin America's Income Inequality Under five Political Regimes, 1870-2018

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  • Giovanni Andrea Cornia

Abstract

Most analysts of the Latin American economy believe in the unavoidable persistence of high income and wealth inequality in the region due to a continued structural dependence on primary commodities, the lingering effects of colonial policies, and the emergence of a modernized version of the traditional elites. This paper challenges this view on political economic grounds. It argues that the changes observed over the last one hundred and fifty years in the political orientation of governments affected the nature of economic and social policies that, in their turn, influenced the level of income inequality, both upward and downward. In other words, the evolution of inequality has depended to a considerable extent on ideological and political changes that need to be fully understood. This paper tries to explore this circular relation between `political orientation' of governments and `inequality', and between ‘endogenous changes in economic/social conditions' and `changes in the political orientation of governments'.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Andrea Cornia, 2021. "Latin America's Income Inequality Under five Political Regimes, 1870-2018," Working Papers - Economics wp2021_12.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    • Handle: RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2021_12.rdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeffrey G. Williamson & Luis Bertola, 2003. "Globalization in Latin America Before 1940," NBER Working Papers 9687, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea (ed.), 2014. "Falling Inequality in Latin America: Policy Changes and Lessons," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198701804.
    3. Calcagno, Alfredo Fernando & Sáinz, Pedro, 1992. "En busca de otra modalidad de desarrollo," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    4. José Antonio Ocampo, 2012. "The Development Implications of External Integration in Latin America," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-048, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Leonardo Gasparini & Guillermo Cruces & Leopoldo Tornarolli & Mariana Marchionni, 2009. "A Turning Point? Recent Developments on Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0081, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    6. Bogliacino, Francesco & Rojas Lozano, Daniel, 2017. "The evolution of inequality in Latin America in the 21st century: Patterns, drivers and causal hypotheses," MPRA Paper 77803, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Ocampo, José Antonio, 2012. "The Development Implications of External Integration in Latin America," WIDER Working Paper Series 048, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Diego Battistón & Carolina García-Domench & Leonardo Gasparini, 2014. "Could an Increase in Education Raise Income Inequality? Evidence for Latin America," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 51(1), pages 1-39, May.
    9. Bertola, Luis & Ocampo, Jose Antonio, 2012. "The Economic Development of Latin America since Independence," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199662142.
    10. Leonardo Gasparini & Guillermo Cruces & Leopoldo Tornarolli, 2016. "Chronicle of a Deceleration Foretold: Income inequality in Latin America in the 2010s," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0198, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    11. Jeffrey G. Williamson, 2015. "Latin American Inequality: Colonial Origins, Commodity Booms or a Missed Twentieth-Century Leveling?," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 324-341, August.
    12. Jeffrey G. Williamson, 2015. "Latin American Inequality: Colonial Origins, Commodity Booms, or a Missed 20th Century Leveling?," NBER Working Papers 20915, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-48 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Branko MILANOVIC, 2019. "Market income inequality, left-wing political parties, and redistribution in Latin America," Working Paper cd1121c5-2962-4233-85cc-c, Agence française de développement.
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