Layers of Inequality: Unequal Opportunities and Skin Color in Mexico

We document the contribution of skin colour toward quantifying inequality of opportunity over a proxy indicator of wealth. Our Ferreira-Gignoux estimates of inequality of opportunity as a share of total wealth inequality show that once parental wealth is included as a circumstance variable, the share of inequality of opportunity rises above 40 per cent, overall and for every age cohort. By contrast, the contribution of skin tone to total inequality of opportunity remains minor throughout.