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Self-selection among undocumented immigrants from Mexico

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Author Info
Pia M. Orrenius
Madeline Zavodny

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Abstract

This paper examines the effect of changes in migration determinants on the skill level of undocumented immigrants from Mexico. The authors focus on the effect of changes in economic conditions, migrant networks, and border enforcement on the educational attainment of Mexican-born men who cross the border illegally. Although previous research indicates that illegal aliens from Mexico tend to be unskilled relative to U.S. natives and that economic conditions, networks, and border enforcement affect the size of illegal immigrant flows across the border, the interaction of these variables has not been investigated. Results from hazard models using data from the Mexican Migration Project indicate that improvements in U.S. and Mexican economic conditions are associated with a decline in the average educational levels of undocumented immigrants. Stricter border enforcement is associated with higher average skill levels. Access to a network of previous immigrants appears to lower the cost of migrating but has no differential effect by skill level.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in its series Working Paper with number 2001-1.

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Date of creation: 2001
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedawp:2001-1

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Keywords: Immigrants ; Emigration and immigration ; Labor supply;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. George J. Borjas, 1988. "Self-Selection and the Earnings of Immigrants," NBER Working Papers 2248, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Stark, Oded & Taylor, J Edward, 1991. "Migration Incentives, Migration Types: The Role of Relative Deprivation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(408), pages 1163-78, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Friedberg, Rachel M & Hunt, Jennifer, 1995. "The Impact of Immigrants on Host Country Wages, Employment and Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 23-44, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Borjas, George J., 1996. "The earnings of Mexican immigrants in the United States," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 69-98, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Gordon H. Hanson & Antonio Spilimbergo, 1999. "Illegal Immigration, Border Enforcement, and Relative Wages: Evidence from Apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico Border," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1337-1357, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Card, David, 2001. "Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows, and the Local Labor Market Impacts of Higher Immigration," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(1), pages 22-64, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. George J. Borjas, 1994. "The Economics of Immigration," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1667-1717, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Barry Chiswick, 1999. "Are Immigrants Favorably Self-Selected?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 181-185, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Michéle V.K. Belot & Timothy J. Hatton, 2008. "Immigrant Selection in the OECD," CEPR Discussion Papers 571, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Toman Omar Mahmoud & Christoph Trebesch, 2009. "The Economic Drivers of Human Trafficking: Micro-Evidence from Five Eastern European Countries," Kiel Working Papers 1480, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. [Downloadable!]
  3. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny & Leslie Lukens, 2008. "Why stop there? Mexican migration to the U.S. border region," Working Papers 0803, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. [Downloadable!]
  4. Gordon H. Hanson & Craig McIntosh, 2007. "The Great Mexican Emigration," NBER Working Papers 13675, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Nicola D. Coniglio & Giuseppe De Arcangelis & Laura Serlenga, 2006. "Intentions to Return of Undocumented Migrants: Illegality as a Cause of Skill Waste," IZA Discussion Papers 2356, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  6. Gould, Eric D & Moav, Omer, 2008. "When is "Too Much" Inequality Not Enough? The Selection of Israeli Emigrants," CEPR Discussion Papers 6955, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2004. "What are the consequences of an amnesty for undocumented immigrants?," Working Paper 2004-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. [Downloadable!]
  8. David McKenzie & Hillel Rapoport, 2007. "Self-selection patterns in Mexico-U.S. migration: The role of migration networks," CReAM Discussion Paper Series 0701, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Jeffrey Grogger & Gordon H. Hanson, 2008. "Income Maximization and the Selection and Sorting of International Migrants," NBER Working Papers 13821, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Gordon H. Hanson, 2006. "Illegal Migration from Mexico to the United States," NBER Working Papers 12141, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Pablo Ibarraran & Darren Lubotsky, 2005. "Mexican Immigration and Self-Selection: New Evidence from the 2000 Mexican Census," NBER Working Papers 11456, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Gordon H. Hanson, 2005. "Emigration, Labor Supply, and Earnings in Mexico," NBER Working Papers 11412, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Dennis Görlich & Christoph Trebesch, 2008. "Seasonal Migration and Networks—Evidence on Moldova’s Labour Exodus," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 107-133, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2005. "Did 9/11 worsen the job prospects of Hispanic immigrants?," Working Papers 05-08, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. [Downloadable!]
  15. Nicola D. Coniglio & Giuseppe De Arcangelis & Laura Serlenga, 2006. "Intentions to Return of Irregular Migrants: Illegality as a Cause of Skill Waste," series 0011, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche - Università di Bari, revised Feb 2006. [Downloadable!]
  16. Daniel Chiquiar & Gordon H. Hanson, 2002. "International Migration, Self-Selection, and the Distribution of Wages: Evidence from Mexico and the United States," NBER Working Papers 9242, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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