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

Giovanni Cornia

No wp-2015-020, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

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.

Keywords: Education; Equality and inequality; Fiscal policy; Local history; Income distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Income inequality in Latin America. Recent decline and prospects for its further reduction (2014)
Working Paper: Income inequality in Latin America: Recent decline and prospects for its further reduction (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2015-020

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