Mexican Migration to the Us: Evidence and Theory

Studies on Mexican migration to the US differ as towhether immigrants are drawn from the bottom or thetop of the education distribution of Mexico. Thisbook presents evidence that shows that in the year1994, Mexican males age 25 to 58 were drawndisproportionately from the middle-to-upper end ofthe Mexican education distribution. The book alsoshows that the expected US-Mexico wage differentialexplains partially this fact, because thisdifferential is the highest for Mexicans with mediumlevels of education. Then, it also explores thepossibility that a differential value in familysupport to the unemployed could explain the lowerpropensity to migrate observed in the less educated. The book also explores whether the return migrationof Mexicans in the US to Mexico can explain the lowerpropensity to migrate. It shows that the largerreturn rates observed among the less educated arepotentially explained by higher savings and astronger preference for consumption in Mexicorelative to the more educated. The book is intendedfor people interested in Migration and Economicsincluding researchers, students and policy makers.