Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/114104 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9210
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper analyzes the individual-level determinants of wage inequality for Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador from 2001 to 2010. Using a rich annual data set from surveys in all three countries, we analyze wages both using conventional wage regressions and decompositions of standard Gini indices. Although popular opinion and standard Gini indices suggest Colombia to exhibit the most unequal distribution of income among these countries, our results suggest otherwise. If one assumes educational attainment to form part of one's own responsibility the Colombian income distribution appears more equal than Bolivia's or Ecuador's. In 2010, educational achievement explains over 10.9 percent of the Gini score in Colombia, 6.3 percent in Ecuador, and a mere 2.4 percent in Bolivia. Our findings show that the sources of income inequality can differ substantially across countries. Respective policy prescriptions should differ accordingly.
Subjects: 
income inequality
Gini coefficient
unfair inequality
JEL: 
D31
D63
J31
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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