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Determinants of Emigration: Comparing Migrants’ Selectivity from Peru and Mexico

Author

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  • Ayumi Takenaka

    (Bryn Mawr College and at the Center for the Study of Social Stratification and Inequality of Tohoku University)

  • Karen A. Pren

    (Mexican Migration Project and the Latin American Migration Project)

Abstract

Although Latin American migrants to the United States, particularly Mexicans, are typically portrayed as poor and uneducated, some, such as Peruvians, are disproportionately well educated compared to those who never left their countries. This article examines who emigrates and why by comparing migrants’ selectivity from Mexico and Peru. Using the Peruvian data of the Latin American Migration Project (LAMP), collected in five communities in Lima between 2001 and 2005, and comparable data for twelve urban communities from the Mexican Migration Project (MMP), the authors compare the determinants of out-migration from these two countries. The results show that the difference in migrant selectivity is not so much attributable to migrants’ legal status, urban versus rural origins, demographic background, or geographic distance. Rather, a crucial difference lies in the nature of migrant networks, or how networks develop over time and how migrants utilize networks in migrating.

Suggested Citation

  • Ayumi Takenaka & Karen A. Pren, 2010. "Determinants of Emigration: Comparing Migrants’ Selectivity from Peru and Mexico," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 630(1), pages 178-193, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:630:y:2010:i:1:p:178-193
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716210368109
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    References listed on IDEAS

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