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Mexican Migrants to the US: What Do Unrealized Migration Intentions Tell Us About Gender Inequalities?

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  • Isabelle Chort

    (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper exploits unrealized intentions to migrate to highlight mobility constraints. I analyze the discrepancies between Mexicans' intention to migrate and their subsequent migration behavior using the two waves of the Mexican Family Life Survey panel (2002 and 2005–06). I first provide evidence that intentions contain behavioral information. Controlling for various shocks likely to affect the migration decision, I find that women's probability to carry out their migration plans is systematically lower than men's. Different interpretations are investigated, but empirical evidence suggests that women's unrealized migration plans are due to female-specific costs and constraints.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabelle Chort, 2014. "Mexican Migrants to the US: What Do Unrealized Migration Intentions Tell Us About Gender Inequalities?," Post-Print hal-01516079, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01516079
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.01.036
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    Cited by:

    1. Isabelle Chort & Maëlys de la Rupelle, 2022. "Managing the impact of climate on migration: evidence from Mexico," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1777-1819, October.
    2. Isabelle Chort & Philippe De Vreyer & Thomas Zuber, 2017. "Gendered internal migration patterns in Senegal," Working Papers DT/2017/02, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    3. Chort, Isabelle & de la Rupelle, Maëlys, 2017. "Managing the Impact of Climate Change on Migration: Evidence from Mexico," GLO Discussion Paper Series 78, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Frédéric Docquier & Aysit Tansel & Riccardo Turati, 2017. "Do Emigrants Self-Select Along Cultural Traits? Evidence from the MENA Countries," CESifo Working Paper Series 6777, CESifo.
    5. Isabelle Chort & Philippe De Vreyer & Thomas Zuber, 2017. "Gendered internal migration patterns in Senegal," Working Papers DT/2017/02, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    6. Ruyssen, Ilse & Salomone, Sara, 2018. "Female migration: A way out of discrimination?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 224-241.
    7. Isabelle Chort & Maëlys Rupelle, 2016. "Determinants of Mexico-U.S. Outward and Return Migration Flows: A State-Level Panel Data Analysis," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(5), pages 1453-1476, October.
    8. Dean Fantazzini & Julia Pushchelenko & Alexey Mironenkov & Alexey Kurbatskii, 2021. "Forecasting Internal Migration in Russia Using Google Trends: Evidence from Moscow and Saint Petersburg," Forecasting, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-30, October.
    9. Victor Agadjanian & Evgenia Gorina, 2019. "Economic Swings, Political Instability and Migration in Kyrgyzstan," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(2), pages 285-304, May.
    10. Simone Bertoli & Ilse Ruyssen, 2018. "Networks and migrants’ intended destination," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(4), pages 705-728.
    11. Jiří Balcar & Jan Šulák, 2021. "Urban environmental quality and out-migration intentions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 66(3), pages 579-607, June.
    12. Smith, Michael D. & Floro, Maria S., 2020. "Food insecurity, gender, and international migration in low- and middle-income countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    13. Isabelle Chort & Maëlys de La Rupelle, 2019. "Managing the Impact of Climate on Migration: Evidence from Mexico," Working papers of CATT hal-02938034, HAL.
    14. Escamilla Guerrero, David & Lepistö, Miko & Minns, Chris, 2022. "Explaining gender differences in migrant sorting: evidence from Canada-US migration," Economic History Working Papers 117260, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    15. Michael D. Smith & Dennis Wesselbaum, 2023. "Financial inclusion and international migration in low- and middle-income countries," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 341-370, July.
    16. Riccardo Turati, 2021. "Do you want to migrate to the United States? Migration intentions and Cultural Traits in Latin America," Working Papers wpdea2101, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    17. Böhme, Marcus H. & Gröger, André & Stöhr, Tobias, 2020. "Searching for a better life: Predicting international migration with online search keywords," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    18. Kosec, Katrina & Song, Jie & Zhao, Hongdi & Holtemeyer, Brian, 2021. "The Gendered Impact of Income Fluctuations on Household Departure, Labor Supply, and Human Capital Decisions," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315094, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. Catia Batista & David Costa & Pedro Freitas & Goncalo Lima & Ana Reis, 2024. "What Matters for the Decision to Study Abroad? A Lab-in-the-Field Experiment in Cape Verde," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2413, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    20. Docquier, Frédéric & Tansel, Aysit & Turati, Riccardo, 2017. "Do emigrants self-select along cultural traits? Evidence from the MENA countries," MPRA Paper 82778, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Elena Samarsky, 2020. "Who is Thinking of Leaving Germany? The Role of Postmaterialism, Risk Attitudes, and Life-Satisfaction on Emigration Intentions of German Nationals," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1066, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    22. Herrera-Almanza, Catalina & Sahn, David E., 2020. "Childhood Determinants of Internal Youth Migration in Senegal," IZA Discussion Papers 12988, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. Matthias Huber & Till Nikolka & Panu Poutvaara & Ann-Marie Sommerfeld & Silke Uebelmesser, 2022. "Migration Aspirations and Intentions," CESifo Working Paper Series 9708, CESifo.
    24. Fernanda Martínez Flores, 2020. "The Effects of Enhanced Enforcement at Mexico’s Southern Border: Evidence From Central American Deportees," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1597-1623, October.

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