In addition to the excessive concentration of property, the poor functioning and resulting segmentation of labour markets bring about and reinforce the inequality of opportunities and outcomes so typical of Latin America. The increased labour-market flexibility promoted in most countries under the development model adopted in the 1980s failed to lead to faster growth in labour demand; rather, it introduced job insecurity for a high proportion of workers. Moreover, in conjunction with the increasing instability of employment, social benefits tended to be linked to employment contracts. Thus, the relatively unproductive and uncompetitive informal sector persisted, and many workers moved towards own-account work characterized by low income levels, lack of regulation and exclusion from social protection systems, in particular from social security and health care.