Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/224019 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13577
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Trends in aggregate growth and poverty reduction hide a multiplicity of development processes at the local level. The analysis reported in this paper exploits a unique panel dataset of poverty maps covering almost 2,400 municipalities in Mexico and spanning 22 years, first, to test hypothesis that there is within-country income convergence. Second, through a decomposition of the poverty convergence elasticity, the analysis investigates whether this convergence, if it exists, has translated into poverty convergence. In a context of overall stagnant economic growth and poverty reduction since 1990, the analysis finds evidence of both income and poverty convergence among municipalities. As a cause of these, the results point to a combination of positive performance among the poorest municipalities and stagnant or deteriorating performance among more well off municipalities. Redistributive programs such as cash transfers to poor households have played an important role in driving these results by bolstering income growth among the poorest municipalities, while also inducing progressive changes in the distribution of income.
Subjects: 
income
inequality
convergence
poverty convergence elasticity
small area estimation
JEL: 
I32
O47
O54
R11
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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