How many Mexicans fail to escape poverty?

Poverty in Mexico is a complicated situation that has been the subject of several studies. A recent study shows significant data on those who manage to migrate from this situation. Here are the figures.

In Mexico, 50 out of every 100 people born with low economic resources remain in the same condition during their adult life. Among those who managed to rise from low-income backgrounds, 28 out of every 100 are still living in income poverty today.

According to the Espinosa Yglesias Studies Center (CEEY), Only two out of every 100 people who are poor manage to advance to the top 20% of the distribution. . Furthermore, there is a difference between women and men: a smaller proportion of women manage to overcome their origins in the lowest economic positions, while a greater proportion of women than men with an origin in the upper part of the economic ladder fall in position .

In its report "Social Mobility in Mexico 2025: The Persistence of Inequality of Opportunity," it shows that there is a high level of retention from one generation to the next in the position of origin. That is, People who were born into households with fewer economic resources remain in this position throughout their lives, and those who were born with more resources also remain in this position. .

The study examines whether individuals, based on their current economic resources, have remained the same, advanced, or regressed on a five-point scale relative to the economic resource group in which their household of origin was located (at age 14).

If they remain stable, they did not experience social mobility ; that is, they have intergenerational persistence in that economic resource group. However, if they are not stable, then they did experience social mobility, either upward or downward.

For people who come from group 5, with more economic resources (the top 20%), it is observed that 51 out of every 100 remain in that position, while only one out of every 100 falls into group 1 (people who were born in households with fewer economic resources) .

"Overall, for the two extremes in the distribution of economic resources, the results show that In Mexico there is a high permanence from one generation to another in the position of origin . In particular, the probability of persistence from one generation to the next exceeds 50% in both cases," the report warns.

Regarding the social mobility experienced by those who come from group 1 in the distribution of economic resources, it is worth highlighting that, among those who manage to advance some position, the majority (28 out of 100 people) are located in group 2. Therefore, of the population originating in the 20% with the fewest economic resources, 78 out of 100 people (50 in group 1 and 28 in group 2) do not manage to surpass the position of 40% with the fewest resources.

“The results of social mobility compared between women and men point to a situation in which the scope for achievement for them is narrower.”

"Furthermore, this problem exists at both the lower and upper levels of the distribution of economic resources. This implies that gender inequality operates independently of a person's economic background," says the CEEY.

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OA