Date Published:
Dec 1, 2011
Abstract:
To evaluate the distributional impact of remittances in origin communities, prior research studied
how migrants’ selectivity by wealth varies with migration prevalence in the community or prior
migration experience of the individual. This study considers both patterns, and examines
selectivity separately in low and high prevalence communities and for first-time and repeat
migrants. Based on data from 18,042 household heads in 119 Mexican communities from the
Mexican Migration Project, the analyses show that (i) first-time migrants in low prevalence
communities come from poor households, while repeat migrants in high prevalence communities
belong to wealthy households, and (ii) higher amounts of remittances reach wealthy households.
These results suggest that repeat migration and remittances may be mechanisms for wealth
accumulation in the study communities. Descriptive analyses associate these mechanisms with
increasing wealth disparities between households with and without migrants, especially in high
prevalence communities. The study, similar to prior findings, shows the importance of repeat
migration trips, which, given sustained remittances, may amplify the wealth gap between
migrants and non-migrants in migrant-sending communities. The study also qualifies prior
findings by differentiating between low and high prevalence communities and observing a
growing wealth gap only in the latter.
Notes:
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