Traversing the Social Pyramid: A Comparative Review of Income Distribution in Latin America

Abstract

DUKE: Her madness hath the oddest frame of sense, Such a dependency of thing on thing, As e'er I heard in madness. ISABEL: O a gracious Duke, Harp not on that! nor do not banish reason For inequality, but let your reason serve To make the truth appear where it seems hid And hide the false seems true! Shakespeare, Measure for Measure The study of the distribution of income summarizes a nation's social organization and the outcome of the forces of social change. The measurement of income distribution itself yields a type of social scorecard, the resolution of claims by competing groups for the economy's output. As an indication of social justice, income distribution measures as well the extent to which different groups share in a nation's economic progress.