IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jintdv/v20y2008i8p1028-1048.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic development and fluctuations in earnings inequality in the very long run: The evidence from Latin America 1900-2000

Author

Listed:
  • Valpy FitzGerald

    (Oxford University, Oxford, UK)

Abstract

Latin America has the most unequal income distribution of any region in the world, yet its historical causes are poorly understood. This paper reports the first exploratory attempt to compute income distributions for the five leading Latin American economies for the whole 20th century. The methodology produces estimates of earnings dispersion for four skill groups over 1900-2000, which can be used to generate the familiar Gini coefficients. Large fluctuations in dispersion over time are found: countering claims of stability since the colonial past in the recent economic institutions literature; but supporting the findings of economic historians and development economists. An estimation model (reflecting the impact of international trade, labour quality and macroeconomic imbalances) explains the data reasonably well, with all three sets of drivers proving significant, although the measured effects are different across the five countries. The paper concludes that the skill composition of the workforce not only underpins long run trends in income distribution; but also conditions inequality fluctuations in response to exogenous shocks. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Valpy FitzGerald, 2008. "Economic development and fluctuations in earnings inequality in the very long run: The evidence from Latin America 1900-2000," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(8), pages 1028-1048.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:20:y:2008:i:8:p:1028-1048
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.1511
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/jid.1511
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/jid.1511?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gastwirth, Joseph L & Glauberman, Marcia, 1976. "The Interpolation of the Lorenz Curve and Gini Index from Grouped Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 44(3), pages 479-483, May.
    2. Altimer, Oscar, 1987. "Income Distribution Statistics in Latin America and Their Reliability," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 33(2), pages 111-155, June.
    3. François Bourguignon & Christian Morrisson, 2002. "Inequality Among World Citizens: 1820-1992," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 727-744, September.
    4. Deininger, Klaus & Squire, Lyn, 1996. "A New Data Set Measuring Income Inequality," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 10(3), pages 565-591, September.
    5. Wood, Adrian, 1998. "Globalisation and the Rise in Labour Market Inequalities," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(450), pages 1463-1482, September.
    6. Kuznets, Simon, 1976. "Demographic Aspects of the Size Distribution of Income: An Exploratory Essay," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(1), pages 1-94, October.
    7. Li, Hongyi & Squire, Lyn & Zou, Heng-fu, 1998. "Explaining International and Intertemporal Variations in Income Inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(446), pages 26-43, January.
    8. Rosemary Thorp, 1998. "Progress, Poverty and Exclusion: An Economic History of Latin America in the 20th Century," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 79303, February.
    9. Deininger, Klaus & Squire, Lyn, 1996. "A New Data Set Measuring Income Inequality," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 10(3), pages 565-591, September.
    10. Pablo Astorga & Ame R. Bergés & Valpy Fitzgerald, 2005. "Endogenous Growth and Exogenous Shocks in Latin America During the Twentieth Century," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _057, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    11. Gareth Austin, 2008. "The 'reversal of fortune' thesis and the compression of history: Perspectives from African and comparative economic history," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(8), pages 996-1027.
    12. Lopez, Humberto & Serven, Luis, 2006. "A normal relationship ? Poverty, growth, and inequality," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3814, The World Bank.
    13. André A. Hofman, 2000. "The Economic Development of Latin America in the Twentieth Century," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1534.
    14. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2002. "Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(4), pages 1231-1294.
    15. Wood, Adrian, 1997. "Openness and Wage Inequality in Developing Countries: The Latin American Challenge to East Asian Conventional Wisdom," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 11(1), pages 33-57, January.
    16. Valpy Fitzgerald & Pablo Astorga & Ame R. Bergés, 2003. "Productivity Growth in Latin America during the Twentieth Century," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _052, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    17. Simon Kuznets & Lillian Epstein & Elizabeth Jenks, 1941. "Distribution of National Income," NBER Chapters, in: National Income and Its Composition, 1919-1938, Volume I, pages 61-95, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Oscar Altimir, 1987. "Income Distribution Statistics In Latin America And Their Reliability," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 33(2), pages 111-155, June.
    19. Pablo Astorga & Ame R. Berges & Valpy Fitzgerald, 2005. "The standard of living in Latin America during the twentieth century," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 58(4), pages 765-796, November.
    20. Pablo Astorga & Ame R. Bergés & Valpy Fitzgerald, 2003. "Productivity Growth in Latin America during the Twentieth Century," Oxford University Economic and Social History Series _052, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Leticia Arroyo Abad & Pablo Astorga Junquera, 2017. "Latin American earnings inequality in the long run," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 11(3), pages 349-374, September.
    2. Pablo Astorga, 2015. "Functional Inequality in Latin America: News from the Twentieth Century," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _135, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    3. Pablo Astorga, 2024. "Revealing The Diversity And Complexity Behind Long-Term Income Inequality In Latin America, 1920-2011," Working Papers 0250, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    4. von Fintel, Dieter & Links, Calumet & Green, Erik, 2023. "Estimating Historical Inequality from Social Tables: Towards Methodological Consistency," Lund Papers in Economic History 247, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    5. Galli, Stefania & Theodoridis, Dimitrios & Rönnbäck, Klas, 2023. "Economic inequality in Latin America and Africa, 1650 to 1950: can a comparison of historical trajectories help to understand underdevelopment?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113838, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Rodríguez Weber, Javier, 2015. "Estimación de desigualdad de ingreso y otras variables relacionadas para Chile entre 1860 y 1970. Metodología y resultados obtenidos [Income inequality estimates for Chile between 1860 and 1970. Me," MPRA Paper 68400, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Paul Segal, 2022. "On the Character and Causes of Inequality in Latin America," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(5), pages 1087-1102, September.
    8. Javier Rodríguez Weber, 2018. "Alta desigualdad en América Latina: desde cuándo y por qué," Documentos de trabajo 51, Programa de Historia Económica, FCS, Udelar.
    9. Gazeley, Ian & Holmes, Rose & Lanata Briones, Cecilia & Newell, Andrew T. & Reynolds, Kevin & Rufrancos, Hector Gutierrez, 2018. "Latin American Household Budget Surveys 1913-1970 and What They Tell Us about Economic Inequality among Households," IZA Discussion Papers 11430, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Pablo Astorga, 2015. "Functional Inequality in Latin America: News from the Twentieth Century," Oxford University Economic and Social History Series _135, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    11. Pedro Fandiño, 2022. "The role of social conventions on wage inequality: the Brazilian trajectory and the missed “Great Leveling”," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 435-455, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Prados de la Escosura, Leandro, 2005. "Growth, inequality, and poverty in Latin America: historical evidence, controlled conjectures," IFCS - Working Papers in Economic History.WH wh054104, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola.
    2. Stimpfle, Alexander & Stadelmann, David, 2015. "The Impact of Fundamental Development Factors on Different Income Groups: International Evidence," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113128, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Astorga, Pablo, 2010. "A century of economic growth in Latin America," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 232-243, July.
    4. Facundo Alvaredo & Leonardo Gasparini, 2013. "Recent Trends in Inequality and Poverty in Developing Countries," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0151, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    5. Pinkovskiy, Maxim L., 2013. "World welfare is rising: Estimation using nonparametric bounds on welfare measures," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 176-195.
    6. Heshmati, Almas, 2004. "The World Distribution of Income and Income Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 1267, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Guillermo Lezama & Henry Willebald, 2020. "Inequality in Pre‐Income Survey Times: A Methodological Proposal," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 66(4), pages 931-957, December.
    8. Ayal Kimhi, 2004. "Growth, Inequality and Labor Markets in LDCs: A Survey," CESifo Working Paper Series 1281, CESifo.
    9. Sylwester, Kevin, 2004. "A note on geography, institutions, and income inequality," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 235-240, November.
    10. Sara ROSE & Crina VIJU, 2014. "Income inequality in post-communist Central and Eastern European countries," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 5, pages 5-20, June.
    11. Gourdon, Julien, 2006. "Openness and Inequality in Developing Countries: A New Look at the Evidence," MPRA Paper 4176, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Astorga, Pablo, 2007. "Real exchange rates in Latin America : what does the 20th century reveal?," IFCS - Working Papers in Economic History.WH wp07-03, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola.
    13. Soares, Rodrigo R. & Assunção, Juliano J. & Goulart, Tomás F., 2012. "A note on slavery and the roots of inequality," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 565-580.
    14. Prados de la Escosura, Leandro, 2007. "International inequality and polarization in living standards, 1870-2000 : evidence from the Western World," IFCS - Working Papers in Economic History.WH wp07-05, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola.
    15. Claudia Biancotti, 2004. "A Polarization of Polarization? The Distribution of Inequality 1970-1996," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 487, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    16. Paolo Liberati, 2015. "The World Distribution of Income And Its Inequality, 1970–2009," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(2), pages 248-273, June.
    17. Thierry Verdier, 2005. "Intégration commerciale « socialement responsable » : une approche en termes d'économie politique," Revue d’économie du développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 13(4), pages 55-121.
    18. Machiko Nissanke & Alice Sindzingre, 2006. "Institutional Foundations for Shared Growth in Sub‐Saharan Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 18(3), pages 353-391.
    19. repec:oxf:wpaper:75.2 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Ame R. Bergés & Valpy Fitzgerald, 2004. "The Standard of Living in Latin America During the Twentieth Century," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _054, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    21. Antonio Andres & Carlyn Ramlogan-Dobson, 2011. "Is Corruption Really Bad for Inequality? Evidence from Latin America," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(7), pages 959-976.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:20:y:2008:i:8:p:1028-1048. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/5102/home .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.