중남미 국가의 소득 및 소비 불평등과 정책적 시사점(Income and Consumption Inequality in Latin America and Policy Implications for South Korea)

본 연구에서는 칠레, 멕시코, 브라질 3개국의 소득 불평등과 소비 불평등에 대한 심도 있는 분석을 수행하였다. 중남미 주요국의 불평등에 대한 연구를 수행하게 된 직접적 배경은 최근 칠레와 콜롬비아에서 발발한 대규모 시위이다. 2019년 10월에 시작된 칠레의 대규모 시위는 지하철 요금을 50원 인상하는 것으로 촉발되어, 현재 칠레의 헌법을 새로 만드는 과정으로까지 이어졌다. 콜롬비아에서도 2021년 4월 이반 두케 대통령이 발표한 세제 개편안에 국민들이 반발하면서 대규모 시위가 촉발되었고, 이후 코로나 팬데믹에도 수많은 시민이 시위에 참여하였다 This study analyzed income and consumption inequality in Chile,Mexico, and Brazil. The motivation for this study is the recent massive protests in Chile and Colombia. The protest in Chile, which began in October 2019, were sparked by 30 Chilean peso increase in subway fare and led to enacting a new constitution in progress. In Colombia, the uprising occurred as people protested against the tax reform bill announced by President Ivan Duque in April 2021. Why is it necessary to examine income and consumption inequality in Latin American in which a variety of social inequalities, including income inequality, have always been perceived as severe? Have the inequalities in Latin America changed significantly over time? The main goal of this study is to answer to these research questions. Chapter 1 describes why a research on income inequality in Latin America is necessary. First, there are not many existing studies that have investigated the inequality of individual countries in Latin America because a number of experts have already recognized the inequality in Latin America as a serious social problem and tend to consider it constant. Second, previous studies have not examined diverse indicators related to the inequality and thus have failed to provide accurate information on the inequality of each country. Third, it is meaningful to analyze income inequality in Latin America since the inequality and economic conditions could be critical variables in forecasting future regime change in the region. Chapter 2 examines inequalities in various sectors in Latin America. In general, indigenous people are recognized as the most economically and socially vulnerable class. They are likely to live in areas with poor transportation, and thus access to public education is difficult. The tax systems of Latin American countries are too dependent on indirect taxes rather than direct taxes, and thus is regressive. There is a large gap in welfare spending among Latin American countries. (the rest omitted)