The regional geography of social mobility in Mexico

We study intergenerational social mobility in Mexico at the subnational level to determine whether poorer regions have similar rates of social mobility as richer ones. We approximate socioeconomic status with an index that captures the variability across households in durable goods, services and education of household heads for both adult children and their parents. The estimated indicators suggest a clear north-south gradient in social mobility: the children of poor parents in the northern regions experience greater upward mobility than in the central and southern regions.