How is the Slowdown Affecting Households in Latin America and the Caribbean?
This paper shows evidence that suggests the economic slowdown in Latin America and the Caribbean has already translated into slowing social gains, including decelerating poverty reduction, stagnating growth of the middle class, and lower income gro...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/879131484837179886/How-is-the-slowdown-affecting-households-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25957 |
| Summary: | This paper shows evidence that suggests
the economic slowdown in Latin America and the Caribbean has
already translated into slowing social gains, including
decelerating poverty reduction, stagnating growth of the
middle class, and lower income growth. The countries of
South America outperformed Mexico, Central America, and the
Caribbean in poverty reduction during the decade up to 2012.
But since then, a new story has emerged. In recent years,
poverty reduction has been disappointing across the entire
region, which seems to be converging toward low growth with
slow poverty reduction and stagnant inequality. However,
this apparent convergence in poverty reduction is driven by
diverging labor market patterns. In a reversal of the trends
seen during the commodity boom, real wages have been falling
in South America and rising in Mexico, Central America, and
the Caribbean. As lower economic growth is likely, the new
normal will pose challenges for policy makers, in protecting
the gains achieved and for societies as they face a mismatch
between expectations and actual social mobility. |
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