Did partial globalization increase inequality? : The case of the Latin American periphery, 1950 - 2000

Inequality is an important threat to the globalization of the world economy that we experience today. This contribution uses the coefficient of height variation as a measure of inequality. This indicator covers not only wage recipients, but also the self-employed, the unemployed, housewives, children and other groups who may not participate in a market economy, for the period 1950-79, for which income inequality data is mostly unavailable or inconsistent. It turns out that within-country inequality is higher in time periods of greater openness. This results is confirmed for the time period 1950-2000, and a much broader model.