Comparative Analysis of Social Inequalities in the Latin American Labour Market

Abstract

The structuring of social inequalities in the Latin American labour market can be explained from a double perspective. First, in general, from the theory of labour market segmentation, where it is possible to differentiate mainly the hierarchical configuration of a primary and a secondary segment, resulting from different characterising factors that converge on both the demand and supply sides of the labour market. Secondly, particularly for Latin America, the theory of structural heterogeneity explains how capitalist economies subjected to an unequal, combined and dependent development model generate modern productive sectors of high productivity that coexist with others of very low productivity linked to informality and social subsistence needs. Based on this approach, the chapter performs two analytical exercises: first, it obtains a typology of four country models by comparing “Key Labor Market Indicators” proposed by the ILO and, second, it analyses in depth one country of each type to account for a multidimensional model of employment segmentation with national labour force surveys. Our hypothesis is that the same general pattern of labour segmentation emerges despite the socioeconomic and institutional differences in each country.