A snapshot of income distribution in the region
- Author: United Nations
- Main Title: Social Panorama of Latin America 2001-2002 , pp 55-61
- Publication Date: February 2003
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.18356/a28e9e07-en
- Language: English
Labour remuneration, made up principally of wages and salaries, is the main component of family income in Latin America. Improving the distribution of income from this source, as well as that from property rents, calls for the implementation of policies which will help to increase the productive resources of the poorest sectors, and these normally only bear fruit in the medium or long term. Public transfers, in contrast, have more immediate effects, but their low incidence in total household income considerably reduces their distributive impact, although they undoubtedly have a significant effect in raising the living standards of deprived sectors. Moreover, heads of household continue to be the main breadwinners, in spite of the sustained increase in the contribution made by secondary recipients. In this respect, women's contribution to the household budget now amounts to a third of the whole, after having registered a significant increase in the 1990s.
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