I s Inequality Really Declining in Latin America? Evidence on Income, Wealth and the Social Structure.

Abstract

This paper examines several dimensions of inequality in the Latin American region focusing on top income shares and Gini coefficients, top wealth shares and the size wealth distribution. It compares inequality of income according to household surveys and income inequality using tax data showing the former tends to underestimate top shares and gini coefficients and therefore the extent of inequality. The social structure is assesed for economic elites, the middle class and the working poor.

Keywords

• inequality
• taxation
• income
• wealth social structure.