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Labour income inequality in Mexico: Puzzles solved and unsolved

Author

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  • Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez

    (El Colegio de Mexico)

  • Nora Lustig

    (Department of Economics, Tulane University)

Abstract

We analyze the evolution and proximate determinants of labour income inequality in Mexico between 1989 and 2017. Labour income inequality increased between 1989 and 1994 and declined between 1994 and 2006. What happened after 2006 is subject to uncertainty. The national labour force survey shows a steady decline and the income expenditure survey suggests that inequality increased. We correct for high and rising item (labour income) non-response and under-representation of high-wage earners through a 'hot deck' imputation method and post-survey weight adjustments. We obtain the new weights for formal workers from tabulations recently released by the Mexican social security administration. For informal workers, we correct using the hot deck imputation method. With corrected data, inequality no longer declines between 2006 and 2017.

Suggested Citation

  • Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez & Nora Lustig, 2017. "Labour income inequality in Mexico: Puzzles solved and unsolved," Working Papers 1719, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:tul:wpaper:1719
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    Cited by:

    1. Dominic Webber & Richard Tonkin & Martin Shine, 2020. "Using Tax Data to Better Capture Top Incomes in Official UK Income Inequality Statistics," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Distribution and Mobility of Income and Wealth, pages 679-700, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Guido Matias Cortes & Diego M. Morris, 2019. "Are Routine Jobs Moving South? Evidence from Changes in the Occupational Structure of Employment in the U.S. and Mexico," Working Paper series 19-15, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    3. Raymundo M. Campos-Vázquez & Nora Lustig & John Scott, 2018. "Inequality in Mexico: Labour markets and fiscal redistribution 1989-2014," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-188, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Nora Lustig, 2018. "Measuring the Distribution of Household Income, Consumption and Wealth: State of Play and Measurement Challenges," Working Papers 1801, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    5. Raymundo Campos-Vázquez & Nora Lustig & John Scott, 2018. "Inequality in Mexico: Labour markets and fiscal redistribution 1989–2014," WIDER Working Paper Series 188, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Guido Matias Cortes1 & Diego M. Morris, 2020. "Are routine jobs moving south? Evidence from changes in the occupational structure of employment in the USA and Mexico," WIDER Working Paper Series wp2020-11, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Jorge Pérez Pérez & José G. Nuño-Ledesma, 2024. "Workers, Workplaces, Sorting, and Wage Dispersion in Mexico," Working Papers 2024-06, Banco de México.
    8. Nora Lustig, 2020. "The ``missing rich'' in household surveys: causes and correction approaches," Working Papers 520, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    9. Campos-Vazquez Raymundo M. & Delgado Victor & Rodas Alexis, 2020. "The effects of a place-based tax cut and minimum wage increase on labor market outcomes," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, March.
    10. Nora Lustig, 2019. "The “Missing Rich” in Household Surveys: Causes and Correction Approaches," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 75, Tulane University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    inequality; labour income; post-survey reweighting; imputation; decomposition methods; Mexico;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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