Mexican Migrants to the United States: an Alternative Methodology

José Martínez

doi:10.29105/ensayos32.1-1

Autores/as

José Martínez

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29105/ensayos32.1-1

Palabras clave:

Net Migration, Mexico, Selectivity.

Resumen

Mexicans are the largest immigrant group in the United States. There is a lack of consensus about whether migrants from Mexico are positively or negatively selected. Data from the Mexican census suggest migrants are negatively selected while data from the U.S. census suggest intermediate selection. Both data sources undercount migrants, with Mexican sources systematically undercounting more educated migrants and U.S. sources undercounting less educated migrants. Net migration techniques are used to estimate migration flows during the 1990s and obtain estimates which present a more accurate characterization of Mexican immigrants. Three main conclusions are reached. First, the net flow of Mexicans to the United States during the 1990s was about 10 percent less than the U.S. census data suggest. Second, migrants are younger and less female than suggested by the U.S. census, but older and more female than suggested by the Mexican census. Third, U.S. census data significantly overstate the educational attainment of migrants. However, the disagreement in the literature on migrant selection results less from who is counted in Mexican and U.S. data and more on the responses given to the Mexican and U.S. census questions on schooling.

JEL Classification: F22, O15, J15.

Descargas

Los datos de descargas todavía no están disponibles.

Métricas

Cargando métricas ...

Citas

Aguayo-Tellez, E. and Martinez-Navarro, J. (2013). “Internal and International Migration in Mexico: 1995-2000”. Applied Economics, 45(13), 1647-1661. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2011.633894

Bean, F. D., Corona, R., Tuirán, R., Woodrow-Lafield, K. A. and van Hook, J. (2001). “Circular, Invisible, and Ambiguous Migrants: Components of Difference in Estimates of the Number of Unauthorized Mexican Migrants in the United States”. Demography, 38(3), 411-422. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2001.0023

Black, D., Sanders, S. and Taylor, L. (2003). “Measurement of Higher Education in the Census and Current Population Survey”. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 98(463), 545-554. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1198/016214503000000369

Bogue, D. J., Hinze, K., White, M. (1982). Techniques of Estimating Net Migration. Chicago: Community and Family Study Center, University of Chicago.

Borjas, G. J. (1996). “The Earnings of Mexican Immigrants in the United States”. Journal of Development Economics, 51(1), 69-98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3878(96)00426-9

Borjas, G. J. and Katz, L. F. (2005). “The Evolution of the Mexican-Born Workforce in the United States”. NBER Working Papers 11281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w11281

Chiquiar, D. and Hanson, G. (2005). “International Migration, Self-Selection, and The Distribution of Wages: Evidence from Mexico and the United States”. Journal of Political Economy, 113(2), 239-281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/427464

Contreras, S. (2012). “The Influence of Migration on Human Capital Development”. International Economic Journal, iFirst Article, 1-20.

Costanzo, J., Davis, C., Irazi, C., Goodkind, D. and Ramirez, R. (2001). “Evaluating Components of International Migration: The Residual Foreign Born”. Population Division Working Paper No. 61.

Cresce, A., Ramirez, R. and Spencer, G. (2001). “Evaluating Components of International Migration: Quality of Foreign-Born and Hispanic Population Data”. Population Division Working Paper No.65.

Cuecuecha, A. (2003). “The Educational Characteristics of the Immigrants from Mexico to the U.S.”. Working paper ITAM-CIE. Mexico City.

Docquier, F. and Marfouk, A. (2006). International Migration by Educational attainment. In Ozden and Schiff (Eds.), International Migration, Remittances and the Brain Drain. New York: McMillan and Palgrave.

Farley, R. (2001). “The Unexpectedly Large Census Count in 2000 and its Implications”. PSC Research Report No. 01-467.

Fernández-Huertas Moraga, J. (2011). “New Evidence on Emigrant Selection”. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 93(1), 72-96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00050

Hill, K. and Wong, R. (2005). “Mexico-US Migration: Views from Both Sides of the Border”. Population and Development Review, 31(1), 1-18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2005.00050.x

Hogan, H. (2001). “Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation: Data and Analysis to Support the ESCAP Report”. DSSD Census 2000 Procedures and Operations Memorandum Series B-1.

Ibarraran, P. and Lubotsky, D. (2005). “Mexican Immigration and Self-Selection: New Evidence from the 2000 Mexican Census”. NBER Working Paper No. 11456. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w11456

Kenkel, D., Lillard, D. and Mathios, A. (2006). “The Roles of High School Completion and GED Receipt in Smoking and Obesity”. Journal of Labor Economics 24(3), 635-660. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/504277

McKenzie, D. and Rapoport, H. (2006). “Can Migration Reduce Education Attainments? Depressing Evidence from Mexico”. CReAM Discussion Paper Series 01/06. London, UK: Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-3952

Siegel, J. S. and Hamilton, H. C. (1952). “Some Considerations in the Use of the Residual Method of Estimating Net Migration”. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 47(259), 475-500. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1952.10501186

Thomas, D. and Muvandi, I. (1994). “The Demographic Transition in Southern Africa: Another Look at the Evidence from Botswana and Zimbabwe”. Demography, 31(2), 177-199. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2061881

United Nations (2006). “2004 World Survey of the Role of Women in Development: Women and International Migration”. New York: United Nations.

United States Census Bureau (2004). “The Foreign-Born Population in the United States, 2003”. United States: US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, US Census Bureau.