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on Central and South America |
| By: | Ferreira, Francisco H. G.; Brunori, Paolo; Neidhöfer, Guido; Salas-Rojo, Pedro; Sirugue, Louis |
| Abstract: | This chapter argues that relative measures of intergenerational mobility and inequality of opportunity are closely related ways of quantifying the inheritability of inequality. We review both literatures for Latin America, looking both at income and educational persistence. We document very high levels of intergenerational persistence and inequality of opportunity for education, with inherited characteristics predicting 29% to 52% of the current-generation variance in years of schooling. Inherited circumstances are somewhat less predictive of educational achievement, measured through standardized test scores, accounting for 20% to 30% of their variance. Our estimates of inequality of opportunity for income acquisition suggest that between 46% to 66% of contemporary income Gini coefficients can be predicted by a relatively narrow set of inherited circumstances, making Latin America a region of high inequality inheritability by international standards. Our review also finds a very wide range of intergenerational income elasticity estimates, with substantial uncertainty driven by data challenges and methodological differences. |
| Keywords: | inherited inequality; intergenerational mobility; inequality of opportunity; Latin America |
| JEL: | D31 I39 J62 O15 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:130163 |
| By: | Hernandez, Paola Buitrago; Sardon, Daniela Maquera; Nopo Aguilar, Hugo Rolando; Rubiano Matulevich, Eliana Carolina |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes gender disparities in poverty across the life cycle in Latin America and the Caribbean using harmonized household survey data. Although gender gaps in labor market outcomes are well-documented, gendered poverty disparities have remained understudied. The results reveal a gendered poverty penalty that emerges as women enter their prime productive and reproductive years—a penalty that has increased over the past 15 years. The presence of young children significantly increases the likelihood of poverty in a household. Single-mother households and those with sole or no earners face particularly high vulnerability. To explore the determinants of the gendered poverty penalty, the paper identifies four relevant groups of individuals and applies a Kitagawa-Binder-Oaxaca decomposition. The results indicate that, beyond the presence of children at home and women’s age, unobserved factors (including potential discrimination) are behind most of the gap. These findings emphasize the critical role of household composition and life cycle factors, particularly family arrangements. |
| Date: | 2025–11–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11260 |