Evolution of Earnings and Rates of Returns to Education in Mexico

Abstract

Reviewing the factors and mechanisms that have been But the increase in earnings inequality in Mexico does driving inequality in earnings in Mexico, L6pez-Acevedo not appear to be the result of a worsening in the finds that inequality in education accounts for the largest distribution of education-although the income profile, share by far of the variation in earnings. In fact, the which is related to returns to schooling, has become contribution of educational inequality to earnings much steeper. This means that the shift in demand inequality in Mexico ranks second in size in Latin toward high-skilled labor has not been matched by an America, after that in Brazil, and its significance has been increase in supply. The probable reason: the increased increasing. Moreover, the income effect is always economic openness in Mexico has facilitated skill-biased prevalent, and the distribution of education is highly technological change. significant even after controlling for changes in other relevant variables, such as age, region, economic sector, and labor market status.

Human capital and the size distribution of firms

“…This is high, but it is qualitatively in line with empirical evidence. According to López-Acevedo [2001], workers with a college degree in Mexico earn 53% more than those with an upper secondary education, who in turn earn 70% more than those with a primary education and 170% more than those with no schooling. In contrast to the United States, in Mexico there is a larger relative difference in wages between those with a primary and secondary education than between those with a secondary and tertiary education.…”

Endogeneidad de los rendimientos educativos en México

“…Un segundo conjunto de investigaciones han utilizado los datos de las Encuestas Nacionales de Empleo Urbano (eneu) del periodo 1987-2004 y así obtuvieron tasas de rendimiento menores, esto es, de entre 6 y 11% (Zepeda & Ghiara, 1999;Rodríguez-Oreggia, 2005;López-Acevedo, 2004;Villarreal, 2008). En general tanto este grupo de estudios como el arriba mencionado observan un crecimiento en la tasa de rendimiento promedio de 1984 a 1994.…”

“…Y en general se ha encontrado que son tres los factores que inciden sobre esa desigualdad: 1) cambios en la demanda laboral relacionados con la apertura comercial y el cambio tecnológico sesgado e intensivo en conocimiento (Cragg & Epelbaum 1996;Revenga, 1997;Meza, 1999;Hanson & Harrison, 1999;Feliciano, 2001;Cañonero & Werner, 2002;Esquivel & Rodríguez-López, 2003;Hanson, 2003;Airola & Juhn, 2005;López-Acevedo, 2004, 2006Robertson, 2004Robertson, , 2007; 2) factores de oferta (Chiquiar & Hanson, 2002;Meza, 2005) y 3) factores institucionales como fuente explicativa (Cortez, 2001;Fairris, 2003;Ghiara & Zepeda, 2004;Fairris, Popli & Zepeda, 2008;Bosch & Manacorda, 2010).…”

Educational Attainment and Regional Economic Performance in Mexico

“…Multilateral poverty eradication efforts have led to similar studies for Latin American economies such as Mexico in recent years [Lachler, 1998;López-Acevedo, 2001]. One recent effort examined the education and income link for a single metropolitan economy [Ghiara and Zepeda, 2001].…”

“…It includes 31 states plus a special Federal District in which Mexico City, the national capital, is located. Formal years of schooling has increased for the country as a whole, going from 2.76 years per person in 1960 to 6.72 years per person in 1990 [López-Acevedo, 2001]. While the national trend is encouraging, regional income and education patterns vary widely across the country.…”