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Panama Income Distribution
One of Torrijos's major goals was to address the problem of
unequal income distribution, which during the 1960s was one of the
most skewed in the world. In 1970 the richest quintile (20 percent)
of the households received 61.8 percent of the income; in stark
contrast, the poorest quintile received only 2 percent of the
income. Results of a study conducted in 1983 by the Panamanian
government suggested that the Torrijos policies did, in fact, make
income distribution more equitable. The income share of the richest
quintile fell to nearly 50 percent, while all other income groups
increased their share: the fourth quintile (second-to-richest) from
20 percent to 23 percent; the third quintile from 11 percent to 15
percent; the second quintile from 5 percent to 9 percent; and the
first (poorest) quintile to 3 percent. Nevertheless, despite the
program's success, the 1983 study confirmed a continuing pattern of
a relatively prosperous metropolitan area and poor rural provinces.
Data as of December 1987
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