Inequality in Latin America : Determinants and Consequences

Lopez, J. Humberto ; Perry, Guillermo

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: EDUCATION;    EFFECT ON GROWTH;    IMPROVING ASSET DISTRIBUTION;    INCOME INEQUALITY;    INCOME REDISTRIBUTION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-4504
RP-ID  :  WPS4504

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Latin America is together withSub-Saharan Africa the most unequal region of the world.This paper documents recent inequality trends in the LatinAmerican region, going beyond traditional measures of incomeinequality. The paper also reviews some of the explanationsthat have been put forward to understand the currentsituation, and discusses why reducing income inequalityshould be an important policy priority. In particular, theauthors discuss channels through which inequality can affectgrowth and output volatility. On the whole, the analysissuggests a two-pronged approach to reduce inequality in theregion that combines policies aimed at improving thedistribution of assets (especially education) with elementsaimed at improving the capacity of the state to redistributeincome through taxes and transfers.