Análisis de la desigualdad de ingresos en Colombia y en cuatro ciudades intermedias Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Pereira y Cartagena: 2002-2018

Abstract

Colombia is the country with the highest income inequality in Latin America, measured by the Gini index, even surpassing Brazil. This high inequality has differentiated manifestations in urban and rural areas, and in the different cities of the territory. This working paper analyzes the evolution of income distribution in Colombia and in four intermediate cities, namely Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, and Pereira. The paper identifies that the four cities have different trajectories: inequality reduces and stagnates in different years, the share of the high, middle and low deciles changes in a particular way in each city, and the income growth of the low, middle and high deciles is equally differentiated. This detailed analysis of the evolution of income in each city allows us to identify key clues to understand the divergent trajectories of inequality in the country.