The Costs of Inequality in Latin America

The Costs of Inequality in Latin America PDF Author: Diego Sánchez-Ancochea
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1838606254
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
From the United States to the United Kingdom and from China to India, growing inequality has led to social discontent and the emergence of populist parties, also contributing to economic crises. We urgently need a better understanding of the roots and costs of these income gaps. The Costs of Inequality draws on the experience of Latin America, one of the most unequal regions of the world, to demonstrate how inequality has hampered economic growth, contributed to a lack of good jobs, weakened democracy, and led to social divisions and mistrust. In turn, low growth, exclusionary politics, violence and social mistrust have reinforced inequality, generating various vicious circles. Latin America thus provides a disturbing image of what the future may hold in other countries if we do not act quickly. It also provides some useful lessons on how to fight income concentration and build more equitable societies.

The Costs of Inequality in Latin America

The Costs of Inequality in Latin America PDF Author: Diego Sánchez-Ancochea
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1838606254
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
From the United States to the United Kingdom and from China to India, growing inequality has led to social discontent and the emergence of populist parties, also contributing to economic crises. We urgently need a better understanding of the roots and costs of these income gaps. The Costs of Inequality draws on the experience of Latin America, one of the most unequal regions of the world, to demonstrate how inequality has hampered economic growth, contributed to a lack of good jobs, weakened democracy, and led to social divisions and mistrust. In turn, low growth, exclusionary politics, violence and social mistrust have reinforced inequality, generating various vicious circles. Latin America thus provides a disturbing image of what the future may hold in other countries if we do not act quickly. It also provides some useful lessons on how to fight income concentration and build more equitable societies.

The Costs of Inequality in Latin America

The Costs of Inequality in Latin America PDF Author: Diego Sánchez-Ancochea
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781838606275
Category : Equality
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
"From the United States to the United Kingdom and from China to India, growing inequality has led to social discontent and the emergence of populist parties, also contributing to economic crises. We urgently need a better understanding of the roots and costs of growing income gaps. The Costs of Inequality draws on the experience of Latin America, one of the most unequal regions of the world, using historical examples from different countries to demonstrate how inequality has hampered economic growth and contributed to a lack of good jobs. Across the region, the wealthy have faced limited incentives to move into new sectors and the poor have not had enough resources to invest in new projects. In fact, low growth, exclusionary politics, violence and social mistrust have reinforced inequality, generating various vicious circles. Latin America thus provides a disturbing image of what the future may hold in other countries"--

Inequality in Latin America

Inequality in Latin America PDF Author: David M. De Ferranti
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821356658
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
Latin America and the Caribbean has been one of the regions of the world with the greatest inequality. This book explores why the region suffers from such persistent inequality, identifies how it hampers development, and suggests ways to achieve greater equity in the distribution of wealth, incomes and opportunities. The study draws on data from 20 countries based on household surveys covering 3.6 million people, and reviews extensive economic, sociological and political science studies on inequality in Latin America. Four broad areas for action by governments and civil society groups to break the destructive pattern are outlined: (1) build more open political and social institutions, that allow the poor and historically subordinate groups to gain a greater share of agency, voice and power in society; (2) ensure that economic institutions and policies seek greater equity, through sound macroeconomic management and equitable, efficient crisis resolution institutions, that avoid the large regressive redistributions that occur during crises, and that allow for saving in good times to enhance access by the poor to social safety nets in bad times; (3) increase access by the poor to high-quality public services, especially education, health, water and electricity, as well as access to farmland and the rural services, and protect and enforce the property rights of the urban poor; (4) reform income transfer programmes so that they reach the poorest families.

Coping with Austerity

Coping with Austerity PDF Author: Nora Claudia Lustig
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815708025
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
Concern about the pervasiveness of poverty and income inequality in Latin America goes beyond the issue of social justice. The persistence of mass poverty and inequality pits different social groups against one another and leads to a polarization that makes consistent economic policy formation difficult. National productivity may also suffer in economies with poorly educated workforces lacking adequate health care. Statistics on poverty and inequality in Latin America are rudimentary and often conflicting. Yet it is known that poverty became more widespread in the region during the last decade as it experienced economic decline. About 180 million people, or two out of every five in the area, are now living in poverty—some 50 million more than in 1980. It is also known that income and wealth are far more unequally distributed in Latin America than in most other developing regions. This book provides a much-needed assessment of how poverty, inequality, and social indicators have fared in several Latin American countries over the past decade. Experts from Latin America and the U.S. focus attention on the extent of poverty and inequality and how they have been affected by the debt crisis and adjustment of the 1980s. They explain that issues of poverty and inequality were neglected as governments in Latin America struggled to restore stability and growth to their economies. Social sector spending declined sharply, affecting both the quality and quantity of services provided. The contributors examine how poverty and inequality are—or are not—being addressed in each country. They also explore the viability of alternative approaches to combating poverty and reducing inequality. They explain that virtually no one denies that governments must take a leading role in the provision of health, education, and other social services. Yet there are sharp debates--over the compatibility of social spending with economic adjustment and stabilization; the priority of social expenditures in relation to other governmental spending; the allocation of funds among different social programs; who should, and should not, benefit; and who should pay the costs. They show that the poor and middle sectors had to pay dearly because their governments, the international community, and the families themselves were not prepared to deal with austerity. The book contains eleven chapters by contributors from universities and research institutions in the U.S. and Latin America, as well as from international financial organizations. It is the result of a project cosponsored by Inter-American Dialogue.

Capital, Power, And Inequality In Latin America

Capital, Power, And Inequality In Latin America PDF Author: Sandor Halebsky
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042998149X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 570

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Book Description
Over the last two decades, economic, political, and social life in Latin America has been transformed by the region’s accelerated integration into the global economy. Although this transformation has tended to exacerbate various inequities, new forms of popular expression and action challenging the contemporary structures of capital and power have also developed. This volume is a comprehensive, genuinely comparative text on contemporary Latin America. In it, an international group of contributors offer multidimensional analyses of the historical context, contemporary character, and future direction of rural transformation, urbanization, economic restructuring, and the transition to political democracy. In addition, individual essays address the changing role of women, the influence of religion, the growth of new social movements, the struggles of indigenous peoples, and ecological issues. Finally, the book examines the influence of U.S. policy and of regionalization and globalization on the Latin American states. Sandor Halebsky is professor of sociology at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He coedited Cuba in Transition: Crisis and Transformation (Westview, 1992). Richard L. Harris is chair of the faculty at Golden Gate University in Monterey, California. He is one of the coordinating editors of the journal Latin American Perspectives and the author of Marxism, Socialism, and Democracy in Latin America (Westview, 1992).

A Moment of Equality for Latin America?

A Moment of Equality for Latin America? PDF Author: Barbara Fritz
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317187563
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
Unlike other regions around the world, several Latin American countries have managed to reduce income inequality over the last decade. Higher growth rates and growing employment, but also innovative wage policies and social programs, have contributed to reducing poverty and narrow income disparities. Yet, despite this progress, nation-states in the region demonstrate little capacity to substantially change their patterns of deeply rooted inequalities. Focusing on the limits and challenges of redistributive policies in Latin America, this volume synthesizes and updates the discussion of inequality in the region, introducing the perspective of global and transnational interdependencies. The book explores the extent to which redistributive policies have been interlinked with the provision and quality of public goods as well as with structural changes of the productive sector. Inspired by structuralist and neostructuralist thinking of Latin American economists, such as Raúl Prebisch and Celso Furtado, authors question the redistributive impact of the interplay of recent macroeconomic, fiscal and social policies, particularly under left and center-left administrations committed to greater equality. Bringing together experts in social, fiscal and macroeconomic policies to investigate the interdependent and global character of inequalities, this book will appeal to scholars of sociology, economics, development and politics with interests in Latin America, inequality and public policy.

Falling Inequality in Latin America

Falling Inequality in Latin America PDF Author: Giovanni Andrea Cornia
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198701802
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
"A study prepared by the United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)

Overcoming Inequality in Latin America

Overcoming Inequality in Latin America PDF Author: Ricardo Gottschalk
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 9780415362849
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Historically, Latin America has experienced persistently high levels of inequality and poverty. Adopting a multidimensional approach, the causes and consequences of this inequality are analytically examined here.

Poverty, Inequality, and Human Capital Development in Latin America, 1950-2025

Poverty, Inequality, and Human Capital Development in Latin America, 1950-2025 PDF Author: Juan Luis Londoño de la Cuesta
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : World Bank
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 62

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Book Description
Presents and analyzes data on extent of and trends in poverty from 1950-94. Uses these trends to project poverty to 2025. Concludes that rapid decreases in poverty will occur only if region devotes significantly more resources to education--Handbook ofLatin American Studies, v. 57.

Wage Inequality in Latin America

Wage Inequality in Latin America PDF Author: Julián Messina
Publisher: Latin American Development For
ISBN: 9781464810398
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This report seeks to explain the over-time trends in wage inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) since the mid-1990s. It explains how wage inequality has been associated with household-income inequality in LAC in the past decades, and discusses how labor-supply and labour-demand trends have affected wage inequality.The Latin American region achieved something truly remarkable during the 2000s: it sustained vigorous economic growth with declining inequality. Other regions in the world grew strongly during this period, but this growth was not shared equitably. However, lower commodity prices and slower growth in China have reduced Latin America's growth prospects in recent years. At the same time, inequality reduction has halted in many countries. As the new low-growth scenario hits labor markets, it is important to ask whether the social gains of the 2000s can be sustained. Will lower wage growth occur across all segments of the wage distribution in Latin America, or will the slowdown disproportionately hurt those who have less? Will the economic slowdown put the brakes on the reduction of wage inequality in Latin America? To answer these forward-looking questions and to know what to expect, it is essential to understand the causes of the observed changes in wage inequality in the past decades, which is the focus of this research project.