The importance of positional mobility for regional comparisons

Abstract

In this paper, I show that the decomposition of intergenerational persistence indicators into their structural and positional components offers a clearer understanding of the determinants of heterogeneity in subnational mobility rates. This constitutes a departure from the current consensus in estimating mobility rates at the subnational level in economics. Applying this approach to the Mexican case, I show no significant differences in positional mobility across the country's regions. This contrasts with the existing results, particularly regarding intergenerational mobility in the country's southern region.