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Income Inequality in Latin America: Recent Decline and Prospects for Its Further Reduction

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  • Giovanni Andrea Cornia

Abstract

The paper reviews the extent of the income inequality decline that took place in Latin America in 2002-10 and then focuses on the factors that may explain such decline. These include a lowered skill premium following an expansion of secondary education among the poor, and the adoption of more equalizing tax, labour market subsidies and macro policies by a growing number of progressive governments. Finally, the paper reviews the changes in inequality during 2009-12 and discusses whether and how the recent decline can be sustained over the next decade in the context of sluggish world growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Andrea Cornia, 2015. "Income Inequality in Latin America: Recent Decline and Prospects for Its Further Reduction," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-020, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2015-020
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2015-020.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Giovanni Andrea Cornia, 2012. "Inequality Trends and their Determinants: Latin America over 1990-2010," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-009, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea (ed.), 2014. "Falling Inequality in Latin America: Policy Changes and Lessons," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198701804.
    3. Miguel Székely & Nancy Birdsall & Jere R. Behrman, 2000. "Economics Reform and Wage Differentials in Latin America," Research Department Publications 4235, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    4. Anthony Atkinson & Thomas Piketty, 2010. "Top Incomes : A Global Perspective," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-00754875, HAL.
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    7. Stephan Klasen & Thomas Otter & Carlos Villalobos Barría, 2012. "The dynamics of inequality change in a highly dualistic economy: Honduras, 1991-2007," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 215, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Giovanni Andrea Cornia, 2012. "Inequality Trends and their Determinants: Latin America over 1990-2010," Working Papers - Economics wp2012_02.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    9. Giovanni Andrea Cornia & Bruno Martorano, 2012. "Development Policies and Income Inequality in Selected Developing Regions, 1980–2010," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 210, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    10. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea (ed.), 2005. "Inequality, Growth, and Poverty in an Era of Liberalization and Globalization," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199284108.
    11. Facundo Alveredo & Juliana Londoño Vélez, 2013. "High incomes and personal taxation in a developing economy: Colombia 1993-2010," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 12, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
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    13. 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.
    14. Facundo Alveredo & Juliana Londoño Vélez, 2013. "High incomes and personal taxation in a developing economy: Colombia 1993-2010," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 1312, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    15. Nora Lustig & Florencia Amábile & Marisa Bucheli & George Gray Molina & Sean Higgins & Miguel Jaramillo & Wilson Jiménez Pozo & Veronica Paz Arauco & Claudiney Pereira & Carola Pessino & Máximo Rossi , 2013. "The impact of taxes and social spending on inequality and poverty in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay: An overview," Working Papers 315, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    16. 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).
    17. Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Nina Pavcnik, 2007. "Distributional Effects of Globalization in Developing Countries," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(1), pages 39-82, March.
    18. Ariel Fiszbein & Norbert Schady & Francisco H.G. Ferreira & Margaret Grosh & Niall Keleher & Pedro Olinto & Emmanuel Skoufias, 2009. "Conditional Cash Transfers : Reducing Present and Future Poverty," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2597, December.
    19. Anthony Philip Thirlwall, 2012. "Balance of Payments Constrained Growth Models: History and Overview," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Elias Soukiazis & Pedro A. Cerqueira (ed.), Models of Balance of Payments Constrained Growth, chapter 1, pages 11-49, Palgrave Macmillan.
    20. Miguel Székely & Nancy Birdsall & Jere R. Behrman, 2000. "Economics Reform and Wage Differentials in Latin America," Research Department Publications 4235, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
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    22. Ewout Frankema, 2010. "The colonial roots of land inequality: geography, factor endowments, or institutions?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 63(2), pages 418-451, May.
    23. Nora Lustig & Florencia Amábile & Marisa Bucheli & George Gray Molina & Sean Higgins & Miguel Jaramillo & Wilson Jiménez Pozo & Veronica Paz Arauco & Claudiney Pereira & Carola Pessino & Máximo Rossi , 2013. "The impact of taxes and social spending on inequality and poverty in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 13, Tulane University, Department of Economics, revised Aug 2013.
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    25. Nancy Birdsall, Nora Lustig, and Darryl McLeod, 2011. "Declining Inequality in Latin America: Some Economics, Some Politics - Working Paper 251," Working Papers 251, Center for Global Development.
    26. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Martorano, Bruno, 2011. "A New Fiscal Pact, Tax Policy Changes and Income Inequality," WIDER Working Paper Series 070, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    27. Francisco Panizza, 2005. "Unarmed Utopia Revisited: The Resurgence of Left-of-Centre Politics in Latin America," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 53, pages 716-734, December.
    28. Palma, J.G., 2011. "Homogeneous middles vs. heterogeneous tails, and the end of the ‘Inverted-U’: the share of the rich is what it's all about," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1111, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Fernando Rugitsky, 2017. "The rise and fall of the Brazilian economy (2004-2015): the economic antimiracle," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2017_29, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    3. Leonardo Gasparini, 2019. "La Desigualdad en su Laberinto: Hechos y Perspectivas sobre Desigualdad de Ingresos en América Latina," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0256, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    4. Ramos Carvajal, Carmen & Alvargonzález Rodríguez, Mercedes & Moreno Cuartas, Blanca, 2018. "Determinants of income inequality reduction in the Latin American countries," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    5. UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa & Bruno Martorano & Giovanni Andrea Cornia, "undated". "Building an Integrated Inequality Dataset and the Seven Sins of Inequality Measurement in sub-Saharan Africa," UNDP Africa Policy Notes 2017-16, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Africa.
    6. repec:rac:ecchap:2017-16 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Jianu, Ionut & Gavril, Ioana Andrada & Iacob, Silvia Elena & Hrebenciuc, Andrei, 2021. "Income Inequalities and their Social Determinants: an Analysis over Developed vs. Developing EU Member States," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 55(2), pages 125-142.
    8. 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.
    9. Pedro Mendes Loureiro, 2016. "Reformism, Class Conciliation And The Pink Tide: Prospects For The Working Classes Under Left-Of-Centre Governments In Latin America," Anais do XLIII Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 43rd Brazilian Economics Meeting] 020, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    10. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Martorano, Bruno, 2017. "Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, determinants and consequences: Building an Integrated Inequality Dataset and the ‘Seven Sins’ of Inequality Measurement in Sub-Saharan Afric," UNDP Africa Reports 267776, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

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