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The Evolution of the Mexican-Born Workforce in the United States

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Author Info
George J. Borjas
Lawrence F. Katz

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Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of the Mexican-born workforce in the United States using data drawn from the decennial U.S. Census throughout the entire 20th century. It is well known that there has been a rapid rise in Mexican immigration to the United States in recent years. Interestingly, the share of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. workforce declined steadily beginning in the 1920s before beginning to rise in the 1960s. It was not until 1980 that the relative number of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. workforce was at the 1920 level. The paper examines the trends in the relative skills and economic performance of Mexican immigrants, and contrasts this evolution with that experienced by other immigrants arriving in the United States during the period. The paper also examines the costs and benefits of this influx by examining how the Mexican influx has altered economic opportunities in the most affected labor markets and by discussing how the relative prices of goods and services produced by Mexican immigrants may have changed over time.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 11281.

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Date of creation: Apr 2005
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11281

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J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies

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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. Robert J. LaLonde & Robert H. Topel, 1990. "The Assimilation of Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Markets," NBER Working Papers 3573, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Murphy, Kevin M & Welch, Finis, 1992. "The Structure of Wages," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(1), pages 285-326, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Borjas, George J, 1985. "Assimilation, Changes in Cohort Quality, and the Earnings of Immigrants," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(4), pages 463-89, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Borjas, George J & Bratsberg, Bernt, 1996. "Who Leaves? The Outmigration of the Foreign-Born," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(1), pages 165-76, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Chiswick, Barry R, 1986. "Is the New Immigration Less Skilled Than the Old?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(2), pages 168-92, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Edward Funkhouser & Stephen J. Trejo, 1995. "The labor market skills of recent male immigrants: Evidence from the Current Population Survey," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 48(4), pages 792-811, July.
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  11. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Melissa S. Kearney, 2005. "Trends in U.S. Wage Inequality: Re-Assessing the Revisionists," NBER Working Papers 11627, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Trejo, Stephen, 2001. "Intergenerational Progress of Mexican-Origin Workers in the U.S. Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 377, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  13. Fernando Ramos, 1992. "Out-Migration and Return Migration of Puerto Ricans," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration and the Workforce: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas, pages 49-66 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  15. David Card, 1989. "The Impact of the Mariel Boatlift on the Miami Labor Market," NBER Working Papers 3069, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  16. Rivera-Batiz, Francisco L, 1983. "Trade Theory, Distribution of Income, and Immigration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(2), pages 183-87, May.
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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. Jess Benhabib & Boyan Jovanovic, 2007. "Optimal Migration: A World Perspective," NBER Working Papers 12871, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. David Card, 2009. "Immigration and Inequality," NBER Working Papers 14683, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. George J. Borjas & Jeffrey Grogger & Gordon H. Hanson, 2008. "Imperfect Substitution between Immigrants and Natives: A Reappraisal," NBER Working Papers 13887, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. David Card & Ethan G. Lewis, 2007. "The Diffusion of Mexican Immigrants During the 1990s: Explanations and Impacts," NBER Chapters, in: Mexican Immigration to the United States, pages 193-228 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. 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!]
  6. Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano & Giovanni Peri, 2008. "Immigration and National Wages: Clarifying the Theory and the Empirics," NBER Working Papers 14188, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano & Giovanni Peri, 2006. "Rethinking the Gains from Immigration: Theory and Evidence from the U.S," Working Papers 2006.52, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Giovanni Peri & Chad Sparber, 2007. "Task Specialization, Comparative Advantages, and the Effects of Immigration on Wages," NBER Working Papers 13389, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano & Giovanni Peri, 2006. "Rethinking the Effects of Immigration on Wages," NBER Working Papers 12497, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Lozano, Fernando A. & Sorensen, Todd, 2008. "Mexican Immigrants, the Labor Market and the Current Population Survey: Seasonality Effects, Framing Effects, and Sensitivity of Results," IZA Discussion Papers 3301, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  11. J. David Brown & Julie L. Hotchkiss & Myriam Quispe-Agnoli, 2008. "Undocumented worker employment and firm survivability," Working Paper 2008-28, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. [Downloadable!]
  12. Giovanni Peri & Chad Sparber, 2008. "Task Specialization, Immigration, and Wages," CReAM Discussion Paper Series 00802, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Jesse Rothstein, 2009. "Is the EITC Equivalent to an NIT? Conditional Cash Transfers and Tax Incidence," NBER Working Papers 14966, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Kugler, Adriana & Yuksel, Mutlu, 2008. "Effects of Low-Skilled Immigration on U.S. Natives: Evidence from Hurricane Mitch," IZA Discussion Papers 3670, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  15. Pouliakas, Konstantinos & Roberts, Deborah & Balamou, Eudokia & Psaltopoulos, Dimitris, 2008. "Modelling the Effects of Immigration on Regional Economic Performance and the Wage Distribution: A CGE Analysis of Three EU Regions," MPRA Paper 14157, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  16. Neeraj Kaushal, 2009. "Adversities of acculturation? Prevalence of obesity among immigrants," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(3), pages 291-303. [Downloadable!]
  17. Robert J. Gordon & Ian Dew-Becker, 2008. "Controversies about the Rise of American Inequality: A Survey," NBER Working Papers 13982, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Benjamin Aleman-Castilla, 2007. "The Returns to Temporary Migration to the United States: Evidence from the Mexican Urban Employment Survey," CEP Discussion Papers dp0804, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  19. Wang-Sheng Lee, 2007. "Immigration and Wages: An Open Economy Model," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2007n07, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
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