Racial and Ethnic Inequality in Latin America

Edward E. Telles, Stanley R. Bailey, Shahin Davoudpour and Nicholas C. Freeman

No 13195, IDB Publications (Working Papers) from Inter-American Development Bank

Abstract: This chapter examines socioeconomic inequality in Latin America through the lens of race and ethnicity. We primarily use national census data from the International Public Use Micro Data Sample (IPUMS). Since censuses use inconsistent measures of race and ethnicity, we also draw on two additional measures from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP). Unlike censuses, LAPOP data offer a more consistent ethnoracial scheme across countries and a unique interviewer-rated skin color measure. Our study shows that black and indigenous populations and those with darker skin color experience educational, income, and occupational disadvantages, even after controlling for their social origins. However, inequality and hierarchical ordering of Afro-descendants, indigenous peoples, mestizos, whites, and others vary across countries. We include an extended examination of educational inequality in Brazil, the regions largest country. The chapter concludes with an exploration of public policy approaches to address black and indigenous disadvantage across Latin America while also highlighting the case of Brazil, where targeted antiracism policy is most advanced.

Keywords: public policy; Economics of Minorities; Races; indigenous peoples; Immigrants; Education and Inequality; labor discrimination; Compensation; Labor Costs; Latin America and Caribbean; Socioeconomic inequality; race and ethnicity; antiracism policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J15 J18 J3 J7 O54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lam and nep-mac
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:idb:brikps:13195

DOI: 10.18235/0005238

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