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The Great Mexican Emigration

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  • Gordon H. Hanson
  • Craig McIntosh

Abstract

In this paper, we examine net emigration from Mexico over the period 1960 to 2000. The data are consistent with labor-supply shocks having made a substantial contribution to Mexican emigration, accounting for two fifths of Mexican labor flows to the U.S. over the last two decades of the 20th century. Net emigration rates by Mexican state birth-year cohort display a strong positive correlation with the initial size of the Mexican cohort, relative to the corresponding U.S. cohort. In states with long histories of emigration, the effects of cohort size on emigration are relatively strong, consistent with the existence of pre-existing networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Gordon H. Hanson & Craig McIntosh, 2007. "The Great Mexican Emigration," NBER Working Papers 13675, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13675
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F2 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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