The object of this paper is twofold: to introduce a new theoretical distinction of underconsumption theories and to criticize Latin American under consumptionism in terms of its general theoretical propositions and its empirical validity. It is seen that the causal ordering that the Latin...

How much redistribution does Uruguay accomplish through social spending and taxes? How progressive are revenue collection and social spending? A standard fiscal incidence analysis shows that Uruguay achieves a nontrivial reduction in inequality and poverty when all taxes and transfers are...

Latin American experts demonstrate how market-friendly measures in key policy areas can promote greater equity and efficiency. By identifying win-win strategies, the authors challenge the conventional wisdom that there is always a tradeoff between these two objectives. This volume shows how...

The authors of this volume analyze the policies that led to East Asia's economic success, including those affecting human resources, savings, the financial sector, trade and institutions, and examine the lessons these policies carry for Latin America. The genesis of this book was an...

In this methodological note we present a homogeneous measurement of labor income that is comparable over all years. Because the categories included in the definition of labor income have changed over time, an adjustment is necessary. In the measurement of inequality it is important not to...

Inequality in Latin America unambiguously declined in the 2000s. The Gini coefficient fell in 14 of the 17 countries where there is 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...

The effect of taxes and benefits on the poor is usually measured using standard poverty and inequality indicators, stochastic dominance tests, and measures of progressivity and horizontal inequity. However, these measures can fail to capture an important aspect: that some of the poor are made...

En el presente documento se ofrece una visión general de la forma en que las actividades crediticias y no crediticias del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo pueden contribuir a reducir la pobreza en América Latina y el Caribe, y se hacen sugerencias para las actividades futuras del Banco en...

This paper presents evidence on the impact of economic crisis on poverty and inequality in Latin America. Crises not only result in higher poverty rates but also may cause irreversible damage to the human capital of the poor. In light of this evidence, the author concludes that crisis avoidance...