Social Mobility in Latin America: A Review of Existing Evidence

Abstract This paper reviews evidence on social mobility in Latin America. Several studies have used data sets that collect intergenerational socio economic information. The data, though limited, suggest that social mobility is low in the region, even when compared with low social mobility developed countries like the United States and United Kingdom, with high levels of immobility at the lower and upper tails of the income distribution. While Latin America has improved education mobility in recent decades, which may have translated into higher mobility for younger cohorts, the region still presents, except for Chile, lower education mobility than in developed countries. The paper also reviews studies on the main determinants of the region's low levels of social mobility, including social exclusion, low access to higher education, and labor market discrimination. JEL Classifications: D30, D60, I3

Do We Know What Works?: A Systematic Review of Impact Evaluations of Social Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean

This working paper analyzes the topics that usually arise from systematic reviews of poverty reduction programs programs and initiates a discussion about them. All evaluations included in the review have a control group and use the rigorous statistical methodologies (randomization or experimental design, propensity score matching, and instrumental variables) to estimate the impact of the interventions. Using this criteria 51 studies from 47 social programs were included. This working paper was distributed in the "Seminar What Next for Social Policy: Building on the Experience of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs", from the 2006 IDB Annual Meeting held in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil on April 1, 2006

Social Mobility in Latin America: A Review of Existing Evidence

This paper reviews evidence on social mobility in Latin America. Several studies have used data sets that collect intergenerational socio economic information. The data, though limited, suggest that social mobility is low in the region, even when compared with low social mobility developed countries like the United States and United Kingdom, with high levels of immobility at the lower and upper tails of the income distribution. While Latin America has improved education mobility in recent decades, which may have translated into higher mobility for younger cohorts, the region still presents, except for Chile, lower education mobility than in developed countries. The paper also reviews studies on the main determinants of the regions low levels of social mobility, including social exclusion, low access to higher education, and labor market discrimination

Inequality and Mexico's Labor Market after Trade Reform

The main purpose of this paper is to measure the contributions of the changes in the labor market to the increase in inequality experienced by Mexico after the 1985 trade and financial liberalization. To do so, the paper uses data from Mexican household surveys (Encuesta Nacional de Ingreso Gasto de los Hogares de México) produced by the Mexican Institute for Statistics, Geography and Informatics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) for 1984 and 1994. The paper applies a counterfactual methodology to measure the effects on inequality of changes in labor force participation, unemployment, structure of employment, and mean labor income by economic sector and education level.

Returns to Education, Sector Premiums, and Male Wage Inequality in Mexico

This paper examines Mexico's increase in wage inequality using data from household surveys (Encuesta Nacional de Ingreso Gasto de los Hogares de México) produced by the Mexican Institute for Statistics, Geography and Informatics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática). An econometric simulation technique based on Juhn, Murphy, and Pierce (1993) and developed for the household level by Bourguignon, Fournier, and Gurgand (1998) is used to measure the contribution of changes in skill premiums and sector returns to the increase in inequality in Mexican males' wages during the period of analysis. The household surveys used in this paper make it possible to decompose some of the changes in inequality in Mexico after trade reform in the mid-1980s. The regressions and simulation technique confirm that male Mexican wage earners experienced an important increase in skill premiums and a decrease in sector wage premiums after the trade reform. The increase in skill premiums was unequalizing, while the decrease in sector premiums was equalizing.

Returns to Education, Sector Premiums, and Male Wage Inequality in Mexico

This paper examines Mexico's increase in wage inequality using data from household surveys (Encuesta Nacional de Ingreso Gasto de los Hogares de México) produced by the Mexican Institute for Statistics, Geography and Informatics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática). An econometric simulation technique based on Juhn, Murphy, and Pierce (1993) and developed for the household level by Bourguignon, Fournier, and Gurgand (1998) is used to measure the contribution of changes in skill premiums and sector returns to the increase in inequality in Mexican males' wages during the period of analysis. The household surveys used in this paper make it possible to decompose some of the changes in inequality in Mexico after trade reform in the mid-1980s. The regressions and simulation technique confirm that male Mexican wage earners experienced an important increase in skill premiums and a decrease in sector wage premiums after the trade reform. The increase in skill premiums was unequalizing, while the decrease in sector premiums was equalizing

La efectividad de las redes de protección social: El rol de los sistemas integrados de información social en seis países de América Latina

Este documento recoge los principales hallazgos de un conjunto de estudios de los Sistemas Integrados de Información Social, resultado de un trabajo de cooperación entre el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo y un conjunto de investigadores de la región con el objetivo de recolectar lecciones aprendidas en el diseño, la implementación y el seguimiento de los Sistemas Integrados de Información Social (SIIS) en seis países de la región. Los estudios incluyen los casos del SINTYS en Argentina, el Cadastro Único en Brasil, el SIIS y RIS en Chile, el SISBEN en Colombia, el SIPO-SABEN en Costa Rica, y el Padrón de Oportunidades en México. Estos sistemas tienen como objetivo principal integrar la información disponible en los países y servir como una herramienta para la priorización del gasto social que realizan las distintas entidades nacionales

Returns to Education, Sector Premiums, and Male Wage Inequality in Mexico

This paper examines Mexico's increase in wage inequality using data from household surveys (Encuesta Nacional de Ingreso Gasto de los Hogares de México) produced by the Mexican Institute for Statistics, Geography and Informatics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática). An econometric simulation technique based on Juhn, Murphy, and Pierce (1993) and developed for the household level by Bourguignon, Fournier, and Gurgand (1998) is used to measure the contribution of changes in skill premiums and sector returns to the increase in inequality in Mexican males' wages during the period of analysis. The household surveys used in this paper make it possible to decompose some of the changes in inequality in Mexico after trade reform in the mid-1980s. The regressions and simulation technique confirm that male Mexican wage earners experienced an important increase in skill premiums and a decrease in sector wage premiums after the trade reform. The increase in skill premiums was unequalizing, while the decrease in sector premiums was equalizing.Population Statistics & Information Systems, Workforce & Employment, Income, Consumption & Saving, Education, premium wage, sector premium, employment, wage inequality