Inaccurate Public Perceptions of Inequality and Social Mobility in Mexico

Mexico has some of the highest inequality levels and lowest social mobility rates in the world, with a growing distance between high-income individuals and the rest of the population. This social rigidity leads to ‘opportunity hoarding’, as people from disadvantaged backgrounds enjoy fewer opportunities compared with those born into privilege. Yet according to new survey evidence, public perceptions are out of line with the reality of the country’s distribution of both income and opportunity. The research reveals, for example, that people overestimate significantly the percentage of the population that are rich; they also overestimate the extent of upward and downward social mobility.