There is an increasing literature that discusses how to measure the middle class. Some approaches are based on an arbitrary definition such as income quartiles or the poverty line. Recently, Foster and Wolfson developed a methodology which lacks of arbitrariness that enables us to compare the...

In this study we use data on subjective well being and migration in Cuenca, one of the Ecuador's largest cities. We examine the impact of migration on the happiness of the family left behind. We use the propensity score matching estimator to take into account the endogeneity of migration. Our...

Latin America is well known as the most inequitable region. As it is recognized, inequality and corruption perception weaken the way that political institutions works and the democratic system. Focusing on Latin American and Caribbean countries, we analyze what are the elements that shape tax...

This paper analyzes and compares socioeconomic inequalities in the use of healthcare services by the elderly in four South-American cities: Buenos Aires (Argentina), Santiago (Chile), Montevideo (Uruguay) and San Pablo (Brazil). We use data from SABE, a survey on Health, Well-being and Aging...

There is not general consensus about if women are more or less generous than men. Although the number of papers supporting more generous females is a bit larger than the opposed it is not possible to establish any definitive and systematic gender bias. This paper provides new evidence on this...

We use a rich data set that allows us to test different happiness hypotheses employing four methodological approaches. We find that older people in Uruguay have a tendency to report themselves happy when they are married, when they have higher standards of health and when they earn higher levels...

Although there were external shocks and changes in macroeconomic and income policies, the poverty indexes did not register important variations in Uruguay (1980-1990). But the fluctuations in average income suggest that the levels of absolute poverty could have been affected. Anyway, the...

Wage dispersion had increased significantly in developing countries, despite the openness to trade of these economies. Research on this issue, using approaches valid under the assumption of conventional demand-supply competitive framework, conclude that this observed increase in wage inequality...