Publication: Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America
Date
2013-07
ISSN
Published
2013-07
Author(s)
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.
Citation
“Lustig, Nora; Lopez-Calva, Luis F.; Ortiz-Juarez, Eduardo. 2013. Deconstructing the Decline in Inequality in Latin America. Policy Research Working Paper;No.6552. © World Bank, Washington, D.C. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/15915 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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