Inequality also has disturbing implications for the region's hard-won democracies. The IDB report found that support for democratic rule was lowest in the countries with the widest income gaps. The chief one hinges on incomes, and can mostly be pinned on the education chasm that separates the richest Latin Americans from the less fortunate in the region. While schooling has been growing steadily in Latin America for decades, relatively few of its inhabitants have university educations, while a vast majority drops out before finishing high school. This trend is made worse by the fact that the quality of public education is dismal in most Latin American countries, widening the differences between the students whose parents can pay for private schools and the children in the state-run system.
Family size can also affect income distribution.
Typically, rich Latin Americans have few children. Women in that segment of society frequently have jobs or are amply qualified to enter the labor market. Among the poor, women tend to have more children and have far fewer incentives and means to seek work outside their homes. For the next two decades or so there will be a declining ratio of students to workers, a trend that will allow countries to finance better school systems and boost savings through capitalization-based pension systems. For their part, women will have more chances to join the workforce.