Duplicating the Number of Income Earners per Household in Mexico Does Not Reduce Inequality

Abstract

This article studies the historical evolution of the number of households in Mexico in relation to the income received by each one of their members. Data from the National Statistics on Family Income and Expenditure (Estadísticas Nacionales de Ingresos y Gastos de los Hogares) are analyzed using simple regression models. It is identified that in the past 35 years the number of Mexican households has multiplied by 3, the percentage of income earners per household has multiplied by 2, while the number of children per household has reduced by half. However, this structural change of families has neither provided greater income for them nor helped reduce the inequality index in Mexico. Structural changes and inequality index are questioned as measures of well-being in Mexico.