Over the last two decades, Mexico has experienced macroeconomic stability, an open trade regime, and substantial progress in education. Yet average workers' earnings have stagnated, and earnings of those with higher schooling have fallen, compressing the earnings distribution and lowering the...

In a perfectly competitive market for annuities with full information, the price of annuities is equal to individuals' (discounted) survival probabilities. That is, prices are actuarially fair. In contrast, the pricing implicit in social security systems invariably allows for cross subsidization...

When information on longevity (survival functions) is unknown early in life, individuals have an interest to insure themselves against future quot;risk-classquot; classification. Accordingly, the First-Best typically involves transfers across states of nature. Competitive equilibrium cannot...

This document presents a systematic review of empirical approaches to the identification and measurement of the middle class as the concept is used in the applied literature. It then presents an arguably less arbitrary definition of the middle class which is based on sound principles of...

This study investigates the impact of recent crises in Argentina (including the severe downturn of 2001–02) on health and education outcomes. The identification strategy relies on both the inter-temporal and the cross-provincial co-variation between changes in regional GDP and outcomes by...

Identifying relevant variables for multidimensional poverty analysis depends on how different dimensions complement or substitute each other, given the existence of attributes highly correlated with household income. Dimensions weakly correlated with household income highlight the relevance of...