Growing apart? The Persistence of Inequality in Chile, 1964 – 2010

Abstract

Over the last twenty years Latin America has forged ahead in terms of economic development and per capita income growth based largely on export growth. Social inequality has worsened considerably however. The continent remains the most unequal on earth and there are few signs of this improving. What is the relationship between economic growth and income inequality historically in the continent? How does this vary between and within countries? What are the geographies of inequality, particularly across the rural and urban divide? How is shifting, ostensibly post-neoliberal, state policy mediating this? This paper investigates these themes and identifies key research directions for their further exploration. It uses detailed sectoral and regional data from Chile to illustrate the growing divide, elements of it geography, and the changing role of the state in regulating inequality.