IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/izamig/v5y2016i1p1-2810.1186-s40176-016-0051-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The determinants of Mexican migrants’ duration in the United States: family composition, psychic costs, and human capital

Author

Listed:
  • Shan Li

Abstract

This paper analyzes the determinants of migration duration focusing on family composition and human capital. A utility maximization model is built to show that migrants face a trade-off between avoiding psychic costs from leaving family members and accumulating wealth to support their consumption. The empirical analysis on Mexican men’s US experience carried out using the hazard model shows that marriage and children, which imply a heavier financial burden, are negatively associated with migrants’ duration in the USA. Fathers with more young children under age 12 stay even shorter, because taking care of them is time intensive. Jel codes: F22; O15; J12 Copyright Li. 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Shan Li, 2016. "The determinants of Mexican migrants’ duration in the United States: family composition, psychic costs, and human capital," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izamig:v:5:y:2016:i:1:p:1-28:10.1186/s40176-016-0051-5
    DOI: 10.1186/s40176-016-0051-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1186/s40176-016-0051-5
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s40176-016-0051-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abdurrahman Aydemir & Chris Robinson, 2008. "Global labour markets, return, and onward migration," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 41(4), pages 1285-1311, November.
    2. Chiswick, Barry R. & Miller, Paul W., 2008. "Why is the payoff to schooling smaller for immigrants?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 1317-1340, December.
    3. Govert E. Bijwaard & Christian Schluter & Jackline Wahba, 2014. "The Impact of Labor Market Dynamics on the Return Migration of Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(3), pages 483-494, July.
    4. Dustmann, Christian, 2003. "Return migration, wage differentials, and the optimal migration duration," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 353-369, April.
    5. Chiswick, Barry R, 1978. "The Effect of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-born Men," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 897-921, October.
    6. Christian Dustmann & Joseph-Simon Görlach, 2014. "Selective Outmigration and the Estimation of Immigrants' Earnings Profiles," CESifo Working Paper Series 4617, CESifo.
    7. Becker, Gary S, 1985. "Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 33-58, January.
    8. Mincer, Jacob, 1978. "Family Migration Decisions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 749-773, October.
    9. KIrdar, Murat G., 2009. "Labor market outcomes, savings accumulation, and return migration," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 418-428, August.
    10. Barry R. Chiswick, 1998. "Hebrew language usage: Determinants and effects on earnings among immigrants in Israel," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 11(2), pages 253-271.
    11. Lino, Mark, 2014. "Expenditures on Children by Families, 2013," CNPP Reports 327256, United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
    12. Orrenius, Pia M. & Zavodny, Madeline, 2005. "Self-selection among undocumented immigrants from Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 215-240, October.
    13. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1.
    14. Christian Dustmann & Yoram Weiss, 2007. "Return Migration: Theory and Empirical Evidence," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 0702, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    15. Christian Dustmann & Yoram Weiss, 2007. "Return Migration: Theory and Empirical Evidence from the UK," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(2), pages 236-256, June.
    16. Michael Bittman, 1999. "Parenthood Without Penalty: Time Use And Public Policy In Australia And Finland," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 27-42.
    17. Chiswick, Barry R., 1999. "Are Immigrants Favorably Self-Selected? An Economic Analysis," Working Papers 147, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    18. Govert Bijwaard & Stijn Doeselaar, 2014. "The impact of changes in the marital status on return migration of family migrants," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(4), pages 961-997, October.
    19. Christian Dustmann, 2003. "Children and return migration," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(4), pages 815-830, November.
    20. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Christian Dustmann & Arthur Van Soest, 2002. "Language and the Earnings of Immigrants," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(3), pages 473-492, April.
    22. Govert Bijwaard, 2010. "Immigrant migration dynamics model for The Netherlands," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(4), pages 1213-1247, September.
    23. McClements, L. D., 1977. "Equivalence scales for children," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 191-210, October.
    24. Barry Chiswick, 1999. "Are Immigrants Favorably Self-Selected?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 181-185, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. van Ours, Jan C. & Altangerel, Khulan, 2017. "U.S. Immigration Reform and the Dynamics of Mexican Migration," CEPR Discussion Papers 12032, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Richard J. Paulsen & Olivia Boucot, 2023. "Playing in a pandemic: The impact of family on performance in the NBA's “bubble”," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(4), pages 2102-2109, June.
    3. Fausto Galli & Simone Manzavino & Giuseppe Russo, 2023. "Immigration Restriction and The Transfer of Cultural Norms Over Time and Boundaries:The Case of Religiosity," CSEF Working Papers 683, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    4. Khulan Altangerel & Jan van Ours, 2016. "U.S. Immigration Reform and the Dynamics of Mexican Migration," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 17-043/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    5. Khulan Altangerel & Jan C. Ours, 2017. "U.S. Immigration Reform and the Migration Dynamics of Mexican Males," De Economist, Springer, vol. 165(4), pages 463-485, December.
    6. Fausto Galli & Giuseppe Russo, 2019. "Immigration restrictions and second-generation cultural assimilation: theory and quasi-experimental evidence," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 23-51, January.
    7. Altangerel, Khulan & van Ours, Jan, 2017. "U.S. immigration reform and the migration dynamics of Mexican males," Other publications TiSEM ed2fd098-2862-4d6a-9909-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. Altangerel, Khulan, 2019. "Essays on immigration policy," Other publications TiSEM 954c6300-249e-496c-8cef-0, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Li Shan, 2020. "Rainfall and self-selection patterns in Mexico-US migration," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-32, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shan Li, 2016. "The determinants of Mexican migrants’ duration in the United States: family composition, psychic costs, and human capital," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, December.
    2. Dustmann, Christian & Glitz, Albrecht, 2011. "Migration and Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 327-439, Elsevier.
    3. Christian Dustmann, 2014. "Selective Outmigration and the Estimation of Immigrants Earnings Profiles," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1402, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    4. Jackline Wahba, 2014. "Return migration and economic development," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 12, pages 327-349, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Zhiling Wang & Thomas de Graaff & Peter Nijkamp, 2018. "Barriers of Culture, Networks, and Language in International Migration: A Review," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 5, pages 73-89.
    6. Burzyński, Michał, 2018. "Time, Space, And Skills In Designing Migration Policy," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 84(4), pages 355-417, December.
    7. Michael A. Quinn, 2014. "Crossing The Border And Migration Duration," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(4), pages 843-861, October.
    8. Christian Dustmann & Joseph-Simon Görlach, 2016. "The Economics of Temporary Migrations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(1), pages 98-136, March.
    9. Bijwaard, Govert E. & Wahba, Jackline, 2014. "Do high-income or low-income immigrants leave faster?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 54-68.
    10. Govert E. Bijwaard & Qi Wang, 2016. "Return Migration of Foreign Students," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(1), pages 31-54, February.
    11. Stuart Campbell, 2014. "Does it matter why immigrants came here? Original motives, the labour market, and national identity in the UK," DoQSS Working Papers 14-14, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    12. Rémi Bazillier & Francesco Magris & Daniel Mirza, 2017. "Out-migration and economic cycles," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 153(1), pages 39-69, February.
    13. Abdurrahman Aydemir, 2003. "Are Immigrants Positively or Negatively Selected? The Role of Immigrant Selection Criteria and Self-Selection," Labor and Demography 0306002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Govert Bijwaard & Stijn Doeselaar, 2014. "The impact of changes in the marital status on return migration of family migrants," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(4), pages 961-997, October.
    15. Govert Bijwaard, 2015. "Income of immigrants and their return," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 141-141, April.
    16. Amelie F. Constant, 2020. "Time-Space Dynamics of Return and Circular Migration: Theories and Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 8053, CESifo.
    17. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William Kerr & Çağlar Özden & Christopher Parsons, 2016. "Global Talent Flows," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 83-106, Fall.
    18. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William Kerr & Çağlar Özden & Christopher Parsons, 2017. "High-Skilled Migration and Agglomeration," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 9(1), pages 201-234, September.
    19. Valentine Jacobs & Kevin Pineda-Hernández & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2023. "Does over-education raise productivity and wages equally? The moderating role of workers’ origin and immigrants’ background," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 698-724, November.
    20. Govert E. Bijwaard & Christian Schluter & Jackline Wahba, 2014. "The Impact of Labor Market Dynamics on the Return Migration of Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(3), pages 483-494, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:izamig:v:5:y:2016:i:1:p:1-28:10.1186/s40176-016-0051-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.