WB Cries Havoc over Social Inequality in Latin America, the Caribbean

A recent study conducted by the World Bank (WB) reveals that Latin America and the Caribbean combine for one the regions where social inequalities hit the hardest. The banking institution is calling on political, social and economic institutions in the area to cope with this situation through the implementation of sweeping reforms.

In the study entitled “Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Breakaway from History?” the World Bank points out that the region’s wealthiest people (a tenth of the population) earns 40 to 47 percent of the total income in most Latin American nations, while the poorest inhabitants (around 20 percent of the total) make ends meet with barely 2 to 4 percent of that income money.

These figures –the report indicates- are far higher than the numbers posted in the U.S. and Italy, where that 10 percent of the richest people lays its hands on 31 and 27 percent of the total income, respectively.

In the Dominican Republic, the 10 percent of the population with the highest earnings has 28.4 times more purchasing power than the 10 percent in the poorest sector.

The gap as far as income is concerned, as well as in terms of access to such services as education, healthcare, water and power supplies, is putting the brakes on poverty decline and undermining development, noted Guillermo Perry, chief economist of the World Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean, and coauthor of the research.

The outcomes of the study were disclosed during a seminar held Tuesday by the World Bank at the Pontifical Catholic University of Madre y Maestra, and the Santo Domingo University.