The winding road of wage inequality in the Chilean labour market (1992-2017): a study of the elusive impact of structural social and economic transformations in a neoliberal economy

Pérez Aguilar, Daniela (2024) The winding road of wage inequality in the Chilean labour market (1992-2017): a study of the elusive impact of structural social and economic transformations in a neoliberal economy. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Text - Submitted Version Download (5MB)

Abstract

In an era of global market transformations and increasing economic complexity, understanding income inequality has become a critical sociological imperative. This research examines the intricate dynamics of wage distribution in the Chilean labour market from the early 1990s to 2017, a period marked by profound socio-economic restructuring following the return to democracy and the consolidation of a neoliberal economic mode, with some later social reforms aiming at reducing insecurity and precarity. The results reveal a paradoxical pattern: workers at the lower end of the income band have experienced substantial wage improvements, largely due to the expansion of the service sector and the implementation of remedial social protection policies over the past three decades. Simultaneously, those at the top of the income hierarchy continue to increase their economic gains, even as the Gini coefficient shows a decline. The central research question emerges from this contradiction: If occupations are central in shaping inequality, and human capital continues to be the predominant explanatory factor for wages, why have the transformations experienced over the past three decades not significantly impacted overall levels of income inequality? This puzzle is particularly evident in the reduced gap between low and middle-income earners, with the latter experiencing diminishing returns on their educational investments. The influence of households demonstrates a wearying prominence of the male breadwinner model, supplanted by dual-earner households, which have successfully reduced intra-group inequality. Conversely, the emergence of single-parent households, particularly those headed by men, has the potential to exacerbate disparities between households, forging a novel paradigm demanding new solutions and preparedness from a public policy perspective. The nuanced peaks and valleys depicted in this research offer a detailed portrait of income inequality dynamics and dissect the ramifications of expanding opportunities and meritocratic rhetoric within the context of a still-robust neoliberal economy despite the implementation of remedial social policies.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2024 Daniela Pérez Aguilar
Library of Congress subject classification:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Sets:	Departments > Sociology
Supervisor:	McGovern, Patrick and Henz, Ursula
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4795

Actions (login required)

Record administration - authorised staff only