OECD Economics Department Working Papers
Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.
The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.
- ISSN: 18151973 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/18151973
Bringing all Chileans on board
The Chilean economy has had an extraordinary performance over the last decades with strong growth and declining poverty rates. However, the economy is now slowing at a time when inequality remains very high, making future social progress challenging. This paper discusses how to achieve greater social inclusiveness against the background of weaker medium-term growth. First, it argues that Chile needs to increase income redistribution through its tax and transfer system towards levels prevailing in other OECD increases. Although existing social transfers are effective in combatting poverty, their size remains small and many households at the bottom of the ladder are not reached by them. Second, the paper argues that labour earnings should be less disparate, as they explain around 70% of income inequality. This should be done by updating labour legislation, but also by empowering low-skill workers and enabling them to increase their productivity, through the acquisition of adequate skills. Finally, focus should be placed on closing wide gender gaps.This working paper relates to the 2015 OECD Economic Survey of Chile (http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-chile.htm).
Keywords: income distribution, gender equity, social mobility, income tax, social benefits
JEL:
D31: Microeconomics / Distribution / Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions;
E24: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics / Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy / Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity;
D63: Microeconomics / Welfare Economics / Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement;
H53: Public Economics / National Government Expenditures and Related Policies / Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs;
H24: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
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