ABSTRACT
Latin America is the region of the world with the highest degree of inequality. This inequality has deep historical roots and has shown little improvement with economic growth. Inequality is most commonly measured as income inequality, both because income is an excellent indicator of the capacity to satisfy human needs, and because income can be measured more easily than other dimensions of inequality. However, there are many other important dimensions of inequality, such as inequality in assets (physical and financial as well as human capital) and in access to political power, all of which together have severe implications for inequality in the chances of individuals to fully develop their human capacities.
