Migration from Mexico to the United States: wage benefits of crossing the border and going to the U.S. interior

Abstract Emigrating from Mexico to the United States requires three steps: going to the border, crossing it, and going to the final U.S. destination. This article attempts to measure the earnings benefits of each migration step, focusing particularly on the second step: crossing the border. Using U.S and Mexican microdata of workers living in Mexico and in the United States, this article compares wages of identical individuals on both sides of the border after controlling for unobserved differences between migrants and nonmigrants. On average, Mexican workers increase their wages 1.22 times by moving to the Mexican side of the border, 4.15 times by crossing it, and 1.12 times by moving to an interior location in the United States. Gains are larger for unskilled workers. Also, gains for crossing the border are larger for illegal workers, while gains for going to the U.S. interior are larger for legal workers. Resumen: Emigrar de México a los Estados Unidos requiere tres pasos: ir a la frontera, cruzarla e ir al destino final en los Estados Unidos. Este artículo calcula las ganancias salariales en cada paso, enfocándose particularmente en el segundo paso: cruzar la frontera. Utilizando microdatos de México y de los Estados Unidos, este artículo compara los salarios de trabajadores idénticos en ambos países después de controlar por características no observables de los migrantes y los no migrantes. En promedio, los trabajadores mexicanos incrementan su salario 1.22 veces al migrar al lado mexicano de la frontera, 4.15 veces al cruzarla, y 1.12 veces al migrar de la frontera al interior de los Estados Unidos. Las ganancias son mayores para trabajadores no calificados. Las ganancias de cruzar la frontera son mayores para los trabajadores ilegales, mientras que las ganancias de ir al interior de los Estados Unidos son mayores para los trabajadores legales

Does trade liberalization help woman? The case of Mexico in the 1990s

With the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, Mexico entered a bilateral free trade agreement which not only lowered its own tariffs on imports but also lowered tariffs on its exports to the U.S. We find that women’s relative wage increased, particularly during the period of liberalization. Both between and within-industry shifts also favored female workers. With regards to between-industry shifts, tariff reductions expanded sectors which were initially female intensive. With regards to within-industry shifts, we find a positive association between reductions in export tariffs (U.S. tariffs on Mexican goods) and hiring of women in skilled blue-collar occupations. Finally, we find suggestive evidence that household bargaining power shifted in favor of women. Expenditures shifted from goods associated with male preference, such as men’s clothing and tobacco and alcohol, to those associated with female preference such as women’s clothing and education

Globalization and formal sector migration in Brazil

Summary. — Comprehensive linked employer–employee data allow us to study the relationship between domestic formal sector migration in Brazil and globalization. Considerable worker flows in the formal labor market during 1997–2001 are directed toward lower income regions—the reverse flows of those often posited for informal labor markets. Estimation of the worker’s multi-choice migration problem shows that previously unobserved employer covariates are significant predictors associated with migration flows. These results support the idea that globalization acts on internal migration through job stability at exporting establishments and employment opportunities at locations with a concentration of foreign owned establishments. A 1% increase in exporter employment predicts a 0.3% reduced probability of migration. A 1% increase in the concentration of foreign owned establishments at potential destinations is associated with a 0.2% increase in the migration rate. � 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserve

Did Trade Liberalization Help Women? The Case of México in the 1990s

Abstract: With the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, Mexico entered a bilateral free trade agreement which not only lowered its own tariffs on imports but also lowered tariffs on its exports to the U.S. We find that women’s relative wage increased, particularly during the period of liberalization. Both between and within-industry shifts also favored female workers. With regards to between-industry shifts, tariff reductions expanded sectors which were initially female intensive. With regards to within-industry shifts, we find a positive association between reductions in export tariffs (U.S. tariffs on Mexican goods) and hiring of women in skilled blue-collar occupations. Finally, we find suggestive evidence that household bargaining power shifted in favor of women. Expenditures shifted from goods associated with male preference, such as men’s clothing and tobacco and alcohol, to those associated with female preference such as women’s clothing and educatio

Confianza y capital social: evidencia para México = Trust and social capital: evidence for Mexico

Abstract From an economic perspective, trust among members of a society is associated with the efficient functioning of markets, contract reinforcement and in general with the capacity to generate development and welfare. In this article we empirically explore the determinants of trust in Mexico; in particular we isolate the relation among two measurements of social capital, one for the individual and another for their environment. Our results show that trust increases with these measurements of social capital, and in the absence of segregation, it is higher in smaller communities, at older ages and for inhabitants of the center-occident, among others. Resumen Desde la perspectiva económica la confianza entre los miembros de una sociedad está asociada al funcionamiento eficiente de los mercados, al reforzamiento de contratos y, en general, a la capacidad para generar desarrollo y bienestar. En este artículo exploramos empíricamente los determinantes de la confianza en México, en particular, aislamos la relación entre dos medidas de capital social, una para el individuo y otra para su entorno. Nuestros resultados muestran que la confianza aumenta con estas medidas de capital social y con ausencia de segregación es mayor en comunidades pequeñas, a mayor edad y para habitantes del centro-occidente, entre otras

The Effect of City Conditions on Youth Violence in Mexico A Spatial Econometric Analysis by Metropolitan Area

Using Mexico s Social Cohesion Survey for the Prevention of Violence and Crime ECOPRED 2014 and the Mexican Intercensal Population Survey CONTEO 2015 this paper analyses the characteristics and environment factors that influence the violent behavior of young people aged 14 to 24 years within the 47 largest Mexican cities The existence of spatial correlation between Mexican cities is corroborated and after controlling for it it is found that factors related to addictions drug use by young people and their families and a violent environment around the young being bullied robbed or having violent friends neighbors coworkers or classmates are positively related to the percentage of young people who shout hit objects hit people carry weapons or have been arrested Public policies to reduce the use of drugs and to improve the environment where young people live mainly in their neighborhoods schools and jobs will have a direct effect on reducing the violent behavior of young people And given the confirmed existence of spatial effects coordinated efforts between nearby cities could multiply the impact of such public policie

Leaving the Nest or Living with Parents: Evidence from Mexico’s Young Adult Population

What makes adult children live with their parents? This paper examines the extent to which individual and family characteristics are associated with co-residence decisions between adult children and their parents. Using Mexico’s 2011 Social Mobility Survey (EMOVI) retrospective data and focusing on the young adult population in Mexico, we test empirically what parent and adult children characteristics correlate with co-residence status. Marginal effects from a probit regression model show that, after controlling for individual characteristics and retrospective family conditions, adult children’s education and employment status seem to be correlated with co-residence status, although only for males. Marital status, whether or not they have children, and retrospective parents’ home ownership are all correlated with co-residence status. The probability of adult male children staying at their parents’ home is reduced when the father has higher levels of education, while increased when the mother has higher levels of education