Abstract

ACOSTA MEDINA, Amylkar D.. COLOMBIA: SCENE OF THE INEQUALITIES. Tend. [online]. 2013, vol.14, n.1, pp.9-35. ISSN 0124-8693.

Colombian income distribution is far from being equitable. This inequality manifests itself in every aspect of national life as the consequence of a historical focus of public politics towards the regionalism of development. Colombian coasts Caribe and Pacific, present the highest most critical numbers in economic and social development, which is the exact opposite of what happens in the international context where coastal areas are the most prosperous regions. Low levels of regional integration and economic development inherent to the delay in transportation infrastructure show the recurrent centralization of public authority, which gives privilege to the development of some regions while others remain behind. This strategy reinforces the economic, social and politic unbalance and emphasizes the national economic inefficiency. Therefore, even though production indexes are rising, unemployment rates and working informality are also showing an increasing tendency, taking into account that the productive sectors of higher growth are those that own great capital and not so great human resources. This added to the increasing forced displacement of the rural population that has its origins in inequality, unemployment and poverty. Hence, Colombia is faced with the great challenge of reorienting development policies that will correct inter and intra-regional unbalances; this being accompanied by the transparency in the political exercise and the integrity of the public administration, key element in the development strategy that the country requires.

JEL Classification: D63; I31.

Keywords : Inequality; economic growth; development policies; decentralization..

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )