The Determinants of LaborIncome Inequality in Four Colombian Cities: Cartagena, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, and Pereira, 2001-2021. Evidencefrom Quantile Regressions

ABSTRACT

Using data from the Encuesta Continua de Hogares (DANE) between 2001 and 2006, and from the Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (DANE) between 2007 and 2021, for the cities of Cartagena, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, and Pereira, quantile regressions were estimated to find and classify the determinants of labor income inequality, according to the effect of each one on the income distribution scale. The main result of the study is that education and the percentage of self-employed workers have regressive effects on the labor income distribution in the four cities, thus increasing the scale of the distribution. The covid-19 pandemic has a negative effect on mean and median income, as well as a regressive one on labor income distribution.