Deconstructing the decline in inequality in Latin America

Nora Lustig, Luis Lopez-Calva and Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez

No 6552, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Inequality in Latin America unambiguously declined in the 2000s. The Gini coefficient fell in 16 of the 17 countries where there are comparable data, and the change was statistically significant for all of them. Existing studies point to two main explanations for the decline in inequality: a reduction in hourly labor income inequality, and more robust and progressive government transfers. Available evidence suggests that it is the skill premium -- or, more precisely, the returns to primary, secondary, and tertiary education vs. no schooling or incomplete primary schooling -- that drives the decline in hourly labor income inequality. The causes behind the decline in returns to schooling, however, have not been unambiguously established. Some studies find that returns fell because of an increase in the supply of workers with more educational attainment; others, because of a shift in demand away from skilled labor.

Keywords: Inequality; Poverty Impact Evaluation; Labor Markets; Population Policies; Labor Policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-07-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lam and nep-ltv
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (34)

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Related works:
Chapter: Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America (2016)
Working Paper: Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America (2013)
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