Ethnicity and Human Capital Accumulation in Urban Mexico
Date issued
Dec 2008
Subject
Education;
Poverty
JEL code
D13 - Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation;
J15 - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants • Non-labor Discrimination;
O18 - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis • Housing • Infrastructure
Country
Mexico
Category
Working Papers
This study analyzes social mobility and human capital accumulation among ethnic minorities in Mexican urban areas, exploring changes in educational attainment and labor market status and using panel data from the Mexican Family Life Survey (MFxLS). The results indicate important ethnic differences in human capital accumulation patterns, especially in education, where non-indigenous individuals seem to accumulate human capital more rapidly than individuals of indigenous descent. Also, key socio-demographic characteristics linked to those patterns of human capital accumulation seem to differ between indigenous and non-indigenous individuals. In particular, for indigenous peoples in urban areas, human capital accumulation and wealth accumulation seem to work as substitutes rather than complements in the short run.