The Adult Trajectories in Mexico

Guadalupe Fabiola Perez Baleon, El Colegio de México

In the paper we discuss differences in early life trajectories among three cohorts of Mexican men and women who were born during the twentieth century. We use the concept of early trajectories to refer to the sequence, timing and speed given by three transitions in the life history of our subjects: the first drop out of school, the first marital union and the first stable job. These early transitions had a very important impact in their adult life. In order to clarify differences in these trajectories we contrast cohorts in terms of gender and socioeconomic background. The results of the study indicate a greater diversity of trajectories among the female population. In contrast, the three cohorts of males showed less variation in their trajectories over time and between socioeconomic strata. Moreover, the most common trajectories accumulated less human capital and concluded at an earlier age in comparison with other trajectories.