This study is based on microeconomic data from more than 150 household surveys, five million households, and eighteen million persons contained in the SEDLAC—Socio-Economic Database for Latin America and the Caribbean. These data cover the following sixteen Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Based on these household surveys and the SEDLAC harmonization methodology, the study constructs comparable time series for a wide range of labour market, poverty, and income inequality indicators. It also employs aggregate macroeconomic indicators from two sources: the World Bank’s World Development Indicators and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s database on social expenditure.
Income distribution, poverty and social expenditure in Latin America