Development and Poverty in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile

Abstract

It is argued that poverty in Latin America is not a contemporary phenomenon, but something affecting a wide sector of the population since the colonial period. It incorporates some aspects of the Mexican case to explain that are historical conditions which give rise to the economic growth gap between Latin America and the United States, as well as income inequality. This is exemplified in the cases of Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile, en regards U.S., Japan and Germany, presenting the evolution of GDP per capita and income distribution from 1980 to 2010. It distinguishes extreme poverty from moderate poverty, being in the latter the one where the individual has no access to goods commonly obtained by most individuals in their community, but still can meet their basic needs. As part of moderate poverty it separates poverty from capabilities and assets. Finally, based on the approach to poverty, it analysis poverty in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile in the last decades.