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on Central and South America |
| By: | Iván Albina (CCEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP); Jessica Bracco (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP); Leonardo Gasparini (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP & CONICET); Luis Laguinge (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP & CONICET) |
| Abstract: | There have been widespread public expressions of discontent throughout Latin America since the early 2010s. We exploit harmonized microdata from national household surveys covering nearly all Latin American countries to explore potential sources of discontent driven by income changes along the income distribution. We also estimate fixed-effects models that link discontent measures to changes in household incomes. Our results suggest that discontent may stem less from absolute economic performance during the 2010s than from the significant deceleration relative to the previous decade. |
| JEL: | O1 I31 I24 |
| Date: | 2028–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dls:wpaper:0349 |
| By: | Pablo Sanguinetti; Andres Feroce |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udt:wpecon:2025_01 |
| By: | Berlinski, Samuel (Inter-American Development Bank); Sanz-de-Galdeano, Anna (Universidad de Alicante); Sóñora-Noya, Alba (University College London) |
| Abstract: | We examine gender gaps in early childhood cognitive and social-behavioral skills across several Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Our study complements previous research focused on older children by analyzing the preschool period, a critical stage for lifelong human capital formation. We find that the female advantage commonly observed in school-aged children’s achievement, as well as in high school enrollment and completion in both high-income and LAC countries, is also frequently evident in early childhood within our sample of LAC countries. On average, girls outperform boys in various developmental measures and are less likely to exhibit externalizing behaviors. Furthermore, these gender gaps generally remain stable across the distributions of developmental outcomes. Unlike findings for older children in high-income countries, our results suggest that during early childhood in LAC, boys and girls do not show differential benefits from socioeconomic status or a more favorable home environment. |
| Keywords: | family disadvantage, gender, early childhood development, parental investments |
| JEL: | I24 I25 J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17837 |
| By: | Egana-delSol, Pablo (Universidad Adolfo Ibañez); Bravo-Ortega, Claudio (Universidad Adolfo Ibañez) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on employment, wages, and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The paper identifies tasks and occupations most exposed to AI using comprehensive individual-level data alongside AI exposure indices. Unlike traditional automation, AI exposure correlates positively with higher education levels, ICT, and STEM skills. Notably, younger workers and women with high-level ICT and managerial skills face increased AI exposure, underscoring unique opportunities. A comparison of LAC with the OECD countries reveals greater impacts of AI in the former, with physical and customer-facing tasks showing divergent correlations to AI exposure. The findings indicate that while AI contributes to employment growth at the top and bottom of wage quintiles, its wage impact strongly depends on the movement of workers from the middle class to below the wage mean of the high-level quintile of wages, hence decreasing the average income of the top quintile. |
| Keywords: | artificial intelligence, automation, labor market, developing economies, AI exposure, inequality, non cognitive skills, cognitive skills |
| JEL: | J23 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17746 |
| By: | Bargain, Olivier B. (Université de Bordeaux); Jara Tamayo, Holguer Xavier (University of Essex); Rivera, David (University of Bordeaux) |
| Abstract: | Latent feelings of economic vulnerability and social stagnation may have catalyzed the unprecedented uprisings that shook Latin America and other parts of the world in 2018-2019. We document this process in the context of Chile, leveraging survey data on protest participation and its potential determinants. Specifically, we construct a “social gap” index, measuring the disconnect between objective and perceived social status. Our findings suggest that this social gap predicts protest involvement beyond factors such as perceived living costs, the subjective value of public services, peer influence, or political demands. Notably, it complements broader feelings of anger toward inequalities in explaining protests. |
| Keywords: | protests, social gap, perceived inequality, social status |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17769 |