International inequality and polarization in living standards, 1870-2000: evidence from the Western World

A long-run view of inter-country inequality in living standards is provided for a large sample of countries in Western Europe, the European Offshoots, Japan – OECD, for short- and Latin America. A long term rise in real per capita income inequality is found. The deepening gap between OECD and Latin America was the major factor beneath this increase. Inequality in non-economic indicators of well-being (longevity, education, and human development) fell in the long run but a gap between OECD and Latin America remained by 2000. Polarization took place in the Western World during the second half of the twentieth century.

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