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Illegal Migration from Mexico to the United States

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Author Info
Gordon H. Hanson

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Abstract

In this paper, I selectively review recent literature on illegal migration from Mexico to the United States. I begin by discussing methods for estimating stocks and flows of illegal migrants. While there is uncertainty about the size of the unauthorized population, new data sources make it possible to examine the composition of legal and illegal populations and the time-series covariates of illegal labor flows. I then consider the supply of and demand for illegal migrants. Wage differentials between the United States and Mexico are hardly a new phenomenon, yet illegal migration from Mexico did not reach high levels until recently. An increase in the relative size of Mexico%u2019s working-age population, greater volatility in U.S.-Mexico relative wages, and changes in U.S. immigration policies are all candidate explanations for increasing labor flows from Mexico. Finally, I consider policies that regulate the cross-border flow of illegal migrants. While U.S. laws mandate that authorities prevent illegal entry and punish firms that hire unauthorized immigrants, these laws are imperfectly enforced. Lax enforcement may reflect political pressure by employers and other interests that favor open borders.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 12141.

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Date of creation: Apr 2006
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12141

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F2 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business
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.:
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  2. Epstein, Gil S. & Weiss, Avi, 2001. "A Theory of Immigration Amnesties," IZA Discussion Papers 302, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  4. Gathmann, Christina, 2004. "The Effects of Enforcement on Illegal Markets: Evidence from Migrant Smuggling along the Southwestern Border," IZA Discussion Papers 1004, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  6. Daniel Chiquiar and Gordon H. Hanson, 2005. "International Migration, Self-Selection, and the Distribution of Wages: Evidence from Mexico and the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(2), pages 239-281, April.
    Other versions:
  7. Assaf Razin & Efraim Sadka, 2004. "Welfare Migration: Is the Net Fiscal Burden a Good Measure of Its Economic Impact on the Welfare of the Native Born Population?," NBER Working Papers 10682, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz, 1999. "Undocumented workers in the labor market: An analysis of the earnings of legal and illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 91-116. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  25. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2005. "Gender and Assimilation Among Mexican Americans," NBER Working Papers 11512, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  29. Trejo, Stephen J, 1997. "Why Do Mexican Americans Earn Low Wages?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(6), pages 1235-68, December.
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    Other versions:
Full references

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. Hennessy, David A., 2007. "Economic Aspects of Agricultural and Food Biosecurity in the United States," Staff General Research Papers 12771, Iowa State University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Giovanni Facchini & Anna Maria Mayda & Prachi Mishra, 2007. "Do Interest Groups Affect Immigration?," IZA Discussion Papers 3183, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Wojciech Kopczuk & Emmanuel Saez & Jae Song, 2007. "Uncovering the American Dream: Inequality and Mobility in Social Security Earnings Data since 1937," NBER Working Papers 13345, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. 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!]
  5. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2007. "The minimum wage and Latino workers," Working Papers 0708, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. [Downloadable!]
  6. 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:
  7. Gene M. Grossman & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2006. "The rise of offshoring: it's not wine for cloth anymore," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 59-102. [Downloadable!]
  8. Julie L. Hotchkiss & Myriam Quispe-Agnoli, 2008. "The labor market experience and impact of undocumented workers," Working Paper 2008-07, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. [Downloadable!]
  9. 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!]
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