This report aims to outline the main trends in income distribution and poverty in Chile, as well as
the role of social policy in these areas. The report includes five sections. First, it discusses recent trends in
income inequality and poverty, including a brief overview of the data available in the country. Second, it
describes the country’s social protection programs, including with respect to coverage, financing and
distributional impact. The third section examines how social policy has affected poverty reduction in recent
decades, which is followed by an analysis of the relative stability of income inequality and its relation to
public policy instruments. Section five presents future trends in social policy and their potential impact on
inequality and poverty.
