We analyse 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, for workers in the formal sector, through post-survey weight adjustments. We obtain the new weights for formal workers from tabulations recently released by the Mexican social security administration. With corrected data, inequality no longer declines between 2006 and 2017.
Campos-VazquezRLopez-CalvaLFLustigN. Declining Wages for College-Educated Workers in Mexico: Are Younger or Older Cohorts Hurt the Most? World Econ.2016; 43: 93-112. Available from https//www.sem-wes.org/es/node/1372.
2.
EsquivelGLustigNScottJ. Mexico: A Decade of Falling Inequality: Market Forces or State Action? In: Lopez-CalvaLFLustigN, editors. Declining Inequality in Latin America: A Decade of Progress? Washington, DC and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York: Brookings Institution Press, 2010, pp. 175-217.
3.
Campos-VazquezR. Why did wage inequality decrease in Mexico after NAFTA? Econ Mex. 2013; 22(2): 245-278. Available from http//www.economiamexicana.cide.edu/num_anteriores/XXII-2/01-EM_Campos_Vazquez.pdf.
4.
BiemerPPChristSL. Weighting Survey Data. In: Desirée de LeeuwEHoxJJDillmanAD, editors. International Handbook of Survey Methodology. New York: Psychology Press, Taylor and Francis Group; 2008, pp. 317-41. Available from: 10.4324/9780203843123.
5.
LittleRJRubinDB. Statistical Analysis with Missing Data. Second Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2002, p. 397.
6.
BouillonCLegoviniALustigN. Can Education Explain Changes in Income Inequality in Mexico. In: BourguignonFFerreiraFHLustigN, editors. The Microeconomics of Income Distribution Dynamics New York: The World Bank/Oxford University, 2005, p. 275-312. Available from: https//pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a199/d05219c7c17c6d64535688b148c937804d88.pdf.
7.
Lopez-AcevedoG. Mexico: Evolution of Earnings Inequality and Rates of Returns to Education (1988–2002). Estud Econ.2004 Jul; 19(2): 211-84. Available from: https//estudioseconomicos.colmex.mx/archivo/EstudiosEconomicos2004/211-284.pdf.
8.
Lopez-AcevedoG. Mexico: Two Decades of the Evolution of Education and Inequality. In: HolsingerDBJamesJW, editors. Inequality in Education. Dordrecht: Springer. 2008, pp. 417-43. Available from: 10.1007/978-90-481-2652-1_18.
9.
Meza-GonzalezL. Cambios en la Estructura Salarial de México en el Período 1988-1993 y el Aumento en el Rendimiento de la Educación Superior. Trimest. Econ.1999; 66(262): 189-26. Available from: https//www.jstor.org/stable/20856985.
10.
PopliGK. Changes in Human Capital and Wage Inequality in Mexico. Oxford Development Studies.2011 Sep; 39(3): 369-87. Available from: 10.1080/13600818.2011.596276.
11.
Campos-VazquezREsquivelGLustigN. The Rise and Fall of Income Inequality in Mexico, 1989–2010. In: CorniaGA, editor. Falling Inequality in Latin America: Policy Changes and Lessons. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014, Available from: https//www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198701804.001.0001/acprof-9780198701804.
BoundJJohnsonG. Changes in the Structure of Wages in the 1980s: An Evaluation of Alternative Explanations. Am Econ Rev. 1992 Jun; 82(3): 371-92. Available from: https//www.jstor.org/stable/2117311.
14.
BourguignonFFerreiraFHLustigN. The Microeconomics of Income Distribution Dynamics in East Asia and Latin America. Washington, DC: Oxford University Press, 2008, 416.
15.
Campos-VazquezRChávezEEsquivelG. Estimating Top Income Shares Without Tax Return Data: Mexico Since the 1990s. Latin American Policy. 2018; 9(1): 139-63. Available from: 10.1111/lamp.12143.
16.
Del CastilloM. La magnitud de la desigualdad en el ingreso y la riqueza en México: una propuesta de cálculo. Ciudad de México: CEPAL, 2005, 249p. Available from: https//repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/39531/1/S1501288_es.pdf.
17.
PikettyTYangLZucmanG. Capital Accumulation, Private Property and Rising Inequality in China 1978–2015. Am Econ Rev. 2019 Jul; 109(7): 2469-96. Available from: 10.1257/aer.20170973.
