Per capita GDP has grown more in 2003-2007 than at any other time since the 1970s. ECLAC projections indicate that this trend will continue in 2008, which will thus be the fifth year in a row in which per capita GDP has risen at over 3% per annum. This increase has made further progress in poverty reduction possible, together with a decline in unemployment. Some countries have seen improvements in income distribution as well. A number of problems persist, however, and Latin America continues to lag behind other regions in various areas. Levels of social and economic inequality remain extremely…
En el último cuatrienio (2003-2007) se ha registrado el mayor crecimiento del PIB por habitante desde los años setenta. De acuerdo con estimaciones de la CEPAL, esta tendencia continuará en 2008, lo que completaría cinco años consecutivos con un crecimiento del PIB por habitante superior al 3% anual. De esta manera se ha logrado avanzar en la reducción de la pobreza, ha disminuido el desempleo y en algunos países ha mejorado la distribución del ingreso. Sin embargo, permanecen varios problemas y rezagos respecto de otras regiones. La desigualdad socioeconómica sigue siendo extremadamente alta.…
Stable, higher income democracies often have both a strong middle class and relatively low levels of inequality. In contrast, lower and middle income countries with highly unequal patterns of income distribution and stratified social structures often have a weak middle class, more social conflict and a tendency to populist and/or authoritarian politics. This paper investigates, for a sample of more than 120 countries, some empirical correlations between the size of the middle class and the following set of variables: the level (mean); of per capita income and wealth, the degree of inequality (…
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