Socioeconomic inequalities among the municipalities of Chihuahua, Mexico

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the nature of inequalities among the municipalities of Chihuahua State, Mexico and the factors that contribute to the disparity. The state of Chihuahua has a deep household inequality due to the nature of the inhabitants’ occupations and comprises a significant percentage of the people living in poverty in Mexico because of social deprivation and low income. Previous studies on inequality in Mexico show that significant differences among the municipalities is caused by factors such as marginalization, low economic activity, and informal activities while some other studies have used similar variables selected from social and economic sphere. All these works used these variables to obtain the socioeconomic development index for each region under study. Following the methodology used in de Haro et al. (2017), this paper examines the social and economic conditions of the 67 municipalities of Chihuahua State by calculating the Socioeconomic Development Index (SEDI) of each municipality using the data compiled on variables such as marginalization, degree of urbanization, gross economic activity rate, economic dependence coefficient and density of paved roads. The result shows that two municipalities: Juarez and Chihuahua City have the most favorable socioeconomic conditions due to a high urban density and a low marginalization. On the other hand, Batopillas, Carichí, El Tule, Balleza, Dr. Belisario Domínguez, Chínipas, Rosario, Uruachi, Morelos, San Francisco de Borja, Urique, Nonoava and Temósachi have the most unfavorable conditions due to high marginalization and high economic dependence coefficient. The policy implications of the study are stated in the conclusion which recommends that the Mexican government must concentrate efforts on education through incentives that will encourage schooling in order to increase the pool of human capital in deprived municipalities. Likewise, creating considerate fiscal policies for poorer regions-all for the purpose of attracting businesses that can create employment. Lastly, the government should work on providing enough amenities, infrastructures and better town planning.