Movilidad social en america latina

Intergenerational Social Mobility in Latin America: A Review of Existing Evidence
Viviane M. R. Azevedo* César P. Bouillon

Abstract

This article reviews evidence on intergenerational social mobility in Latin America. Results indicate that mobility is low in the region, even when compared with the United States and United Kingdom, which rank low on social mobility. The evidence alsosuggests high levels of immobility at the income distribution’s lower and upper tails. While intergenerational education mobility have improved in recent decades, which may increase income mobility for younger cohorts, overall the region still presents lower intergenerational social mobility. Previous studies suggest that these results might be associated to social exclusion, low access to highereducation, and labor market discrimination

Key words: Intergenerational Social Mobility, Latin America, Inequality, Social Exclusion, Education.

JEL Classification: D30, D60, I30.

*

Viviane M. R. Azevedo (vivianeazevedo@yahoo.com) and Cesar P. Bouillon (cesarb@iadb.org) work at the Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank. The views and interpretations in this document arethose of the authors and should not be attributed to the Inter-American Development Bank, or to any individual acting on its behalf. The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments. 1

Movilidad Social Intergeneracional en América Latina: Una Revisión de la Evidencia Actual
Viviane M. R. Azevedo† César P. Bouillon

Resumen

Este artículo hace una revisión de laevidencia sobre movilidad social intergeneracional en América Latina. Los resultados indican que la región presenta bajas tasas de movilidad, incluso cuando se compara con Estados Unidos o el Reino Unido, países con movilidad baja. Se observa una alta inercia en las colas de la distribución de ingresos. Aun que la movilidad educacional haya aumentado en las últimas décadas, la región aun asípresenta baja movilidad social intergeneracional. Estudios previos indican que estos resultados parecen estar ligados a dinámicas de exclusión social, bajo acceso a educación superior y discriminación en el mercado laboral.

Palabras Clave: Movilidad social intergeneracional, América Latina, desigualdad, exclusión social, educación.

Clasificación JEL: D30, D60, I30. .

†

Viviane M. R. Azevedo(vivianeazevedo@yahoo.com) y Cesar P. Bouillon (cesarb@iadb.org) son economistas del Departamento de Investigación del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. Las ideas contenidas en este documento pertenecen a los autores y no deben ser atribuidas al Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo o a otra persona miembro del mismo. Los autores agradecen los valiosos comentarios de dos revisores anónimos.

I.Introduction: Perceptions of Intergenerational Mobility in Latin America and the

Role of Social Exclusion

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) continue to have relatively high income inequality compared to other regions (see Figure 1). Even though this per se is a grave concern for policymakers in the region, it is important to note that cross-sectional data show only ―snapshots‖ ofincome distributions in a moment in time. But income distributions may change significantly over time due to the differential effects of economic growth, changes in human capital of different population groups, changes in returns to assets, including human capital, and changes in labor market opportunities, among other factors. These changes are important, as they may systematically benefit or harmcertain groups of the population, thus preventing societies from ensuring equal opportunities for all. Two societies with similar snapshots of income distribution, for instance, can have different welfare levels depending on the degree of social mobility. The analysis of social mobility aims to track the evolution of income distributions over time, looking at the income dynamics of specific agents...