Vehicle expenditure, income, and gender in Mexico: Evidence from household budget data

Abstract

This paper analyzes the determinants of private vehicle expenditure among Mexican households from a budgetary perspective that explicitly considers the roles of income, gender of the household head, and territorial characteristics. Using microdata from the Mexican National Household Income and Expenditure Survey (ENIGH) for 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024, we construct measures of the share of total household monetary expenditure devoted to vehicle-related spending and estimate Tobit models with censoring at zero. This approach allows us to distinguish between the probability of incurring vehicle expenditure and the conditional intensity of spending once it occurs. The results reveal a clear income gradient in the budgetary allocation to vehicle expenditure, as well as persistent differences associated with the gender of the household head. Female-headed households allocate a smaller share of their budget to private vehicles, a difference explained primarily by a lower probability of incurring such expenditure rather than by differences in the intensity of spending conditional on participation. We also identify relevant territorial heterogeneities: households located in rural areas exhibit a higher conditional intensity of vehicle expenditure. Although the analysis relies on repeated cross-sectional data and does not allow for causal inference, the findings provide robust empirical evidence on the budgetary mechanisms underlying inequalities in access to private mobility. Overall, the results suggest that vehicle expenditure operates as a defensive expenditure conditioned by structural constraints related to income, gender, and the availability of transportation alternatives.