Exploring the relationship between military engagement and income inequality in the LAC region (1990-2022)

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between military engagement, defined as a country’s overall involvement in military activities, and income inequality using a panel of countries in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region from 1990 to 2022. We consider both short and a long-term effect of military engagement by using two distinct measures: the military burden, defined as the proportion of military spending to GDP, and the Global Militarization Index (GMI). We interpret the military burden as a short-term indicator and the GMI as a long-term measure. Our results reveal that: (i) the military burden is negatively correlated with income inequality, while (ii) the GMI is positively associated with it.