Classificatory volatility and (in)consistency of racial inequality

Monitoring racial inequalities, whether socioeconomic or health-related, assumes stability in racial classification. Otherwise, the dynamics of these inequalities could result from racial reclassification rather than from processes related to socioeconomic and health inequalities per se. The study proposes a typology of uncertainty in racial classification (contextual - temporal, geographic, procedural - and sampling) and draws on the literature and nationally representative secondary data to discuss the magnitude of racial variability in Brazil according to these five dimensions. The results show that at least two of these uncertainties - geographic and procedural - are substantial, but have little influence on the racial gap in income. We address the impacts of these results on the existence and extent of racial inequalities in health and conclude that the structure of inequalities between whites and blacks is consistent, although skin color classification is volatile.