This publication brings together the keynote lectures delivered by Nicholas Barr, François Bourguignon, Francisco H. G. Ferreira, James Foster, and Nora Lustig at the Regional Seminar on Social Development organized by ECLAC, offering complementary analytical perspectives on the nature, drivers, and measurement of social inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean. The contributions examine inequality as a structural and multidimensional phenomenon rooted in historical legacies, productive heterogeneity, and the interaction between labour markets and social institutions. The volume combines empirical evidence, conceptual reflection, and methodological advances to deepen understanding of persistent disparities and their policy implications. Together, the chapters emphasize that reducing inequality requires coordinated economic and social policies capable of addressing its root causes rather than its symptoms. By bridging academic research and public policy debates, the publication advances a comprehensive approach to inclusive social development, placing the reduction of inequality and the promotion of social mobility and cohesion at the centre of development strategies aimed at overcoming the region’s trap of high inequality, low social mobility and weak social cohesion.