TY  - JOUR
AU  - Chiquiar,Daniel
AU  - Hanson,Gordon H.
TI  - International Migration, Self-Selection, and the Distribution of Wages: Evidence from Mexico and the United States
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 9242
PY  - 2002
Y2  - September 2002
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9242
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9242.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Gordon H. Hanson
IR/PS 0519
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA  92093-0519
Tel: 858/822-5087
Fax: 858/534-3939
E-Mail: gohanson@ucsd.edu
AB  - In this paper, we use data from the Mexico and U.S. population censuses to examine who migrates from Mexico to the United States and how the skills and economic performance of these individuals compare to those who remain in Mexico. We test Borjas' negative-selection hypothesis that in poor countries the individuals with the strongest incentive to migrate to rich countries are those with relatively low skill levels.  We find that 1) Mexican immigrants, while much less educated than U.S. natives, are on average more educated than residents of Mexico, and 2) were Mexican immigrants in the United States to be paid according to current skill prices in Mexico they would tend to occupy the middle and upper portions of Mexico's wage distribution.  These results are inconsistent with the negative-selection hypothesis and suggest, instead, that in terms of observable skills there is intermediate or positive selection of immigrants from Mexico. The results also suggest that migration abroad may raise wage inequality in Mexico.
ER  -