Equity in Latin America Since the 1990s

This paper deals with the social welfare consequences of the stagnation of Latin American growth per capita during the far-reaching economic and social changes that took place during the period 1980-2003. This period of transformation saw large-scale foreign actors gradually increase their economic and political power in Latin America, with negative consequences for domestic economies, especially in terms of increasing income inequality and rising poverty. The only major tendency mitigating these adverse trends was an increase in public expenditure in the social sector during the 1990s, which offset, but did not eliminate, the increased inequality associated with the economic transformation.