Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

International migration and development in mexican communities

  • Migration and Population Redistribution
  • Published:
Demography

Abstract

The theoretical and empirical literature generally regards international migration as producing a cycle of dependency and stunted development in sending communities. Most migrants’ earnings are spent on consumption; few funds are channeled into productive investment. We argue that this view is misleading because it ignores the conditions under which productive investment is likely to be possible and profitable. We analyze the determinants of migrants’ savings and remittance decisions, using variables defined at the individual, household, community, and macroeconomic levels. We identify the conditions under which U.S. earnings are repatriated to Mexico as remittances and savings, and indicate the factors leading to their productive investment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adelman, I. and J.E. Taylor. 1992. “Is Structural Adjustment with a Human Face Possible? The Case of Mexico.” Journal of Development Studies 26:387–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arias, P. 1992. Nueva Rusticidad Mexicana. México, DF: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnold, F. 1992. “The Contribution of Remittances to Economic and Social Development.” Pp. 205–20 in International Systems: A Global Approach, edited by M.M. Kritz, L.L. Lim, and H. Zlotnik. Oxford: Clarendon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banco de México. 1991. Informe Annual 1990. México, DF: Banco de México.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornelius, W.A. 1990. “Labor Migration to the United States: Development Outcomes and Alternatives in Mexican Sending Communities.” Working Paper 38, Commission for the Study of International Migration and Cooperative Economic Development. Washington, DC: Commission for the Study of International Migration and Cooperative Economic Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dagodag, W.T. 1975. “Source Regions and Composition of Illegal Mexican Immigration to California.” International Migration Review 9:499–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz-Briquets, S. 1991. “The Effects of International Migration on Latin America.” Pp. 183–200 in The Unsettled Relationship: Labor Migration and Economic Development, edited by D.G. Papademetriou and P. Martin. New York: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinerman,I.R. 1982. “Migrants and Stay-at Homes: A Comparative Study of Rural Migration from Michoacán, México.” Monograph 5 in U.S.-Mexican Studies, Program in United States-Mexican Studies, University of California at San Diego.

  • Durand, J. 1988. “Los Migradólares: Cien Años de Inversión en el Medio Rural.” Argumentos: Estudios Críticos de la Sociedad 5:7–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durand, J. and D.S. Massey. 1992. “Mexican Migration to the United States: A Critical Review.” Latin American Research Review 27:3–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durand, J., E.A. Parrado, and D.S. Massey. Forthcoming. “Migradollars and Development: A Reconsideration of the Mexican Case.” International Migration Review.

  • Escobar, A. and M. de la O. Martinez. 1990. “Small-Scale Industry and International Migration in Guadalajara, Mexico.” Working Paper 53, Commission for the Study of International Migration and Cooperative Economic Development. Washington, DC: Commission for the Study of International Migration and Cooperative Economic Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernández, C. 1988. “Migración hacia los Estados Unidos: Caso Santa Inés, Michoacán.” Pp. 113–24 in Migración en el Occidente de México, edited by G. López and S. Pardo. Zamora, Michoacán: El Colegio de Michoacán.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, P. and J.E. Taylor. 1992. “Migration and the Transformation of a Mexican Village House Economy,” Presented at the conference “New Perspectives on Mexico-U.S. Migration,” Center for Latin American Studies, University of Chicago.

  • Gamio, M. 1930. Mexican Immigration to the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • García y Griego, M. and F. Giner de los Ríos. 1985. “Es Vulnerable la Economía a la Aplicación de Políticas Migratorias Estadounidenses?” Pp. 43–63 in México Estados Unidos, edited by M. García y Griego and G. Vega. México, DF: EI Colegio de México.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldfarb, R. 1984. “Can Remittances Compensate for Manpower Outflows?” Journal of Development Economics 15:1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldring, L.P. 1992. “La Migración México-BUA y la Transnacionalización del Espacio Político y Social: Perspectivas desde el México Rural.” Estudios Sociológicos, 10:315–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • González, M. and A. Escobar. 1990. “The Impact of IRCA on the Migration Patterns of a Community in Los Altos, Jalisco, Mexico.” Working Paper No. 41, Commission for the Study of International Migration and Cooperative Economic Development. Washington, DC: Commission for the Study of International Migration and Cooperative Economic Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, L. 1961. “Snowball Sampling.” Annals of Mathematical Statistics 32:117–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, K. 1981. “A Proposal for the Use of Information on Residence of Siblings to Estimate Emigration by Age.” Pp. 19–34 in Indirect Procedures for Estimating Emigration, edited by the Working Group on the Methodology for the Study of International Migration. Liège: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund. 1994. International Financial Statistics Yearbook. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, R.C. 1988. “Micro Source Regions of Mexican Undocumented Migration.” National Geographic Research 4:11–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalton, G. and D.W. Anderson. 1986. “Sampling Rare Populations.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society A 149:65–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, M. 1986. “From the Invisible Hand to Visible Feet: Anthropological Studies of Migration and Development.” Annual Review of Anthropology 15:331–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keely, C.B. and B.N. Tran. 1989. “Remittances from Labor Migration: Evaluations, Performance, and Implications.” International Migration Review 23:500–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindstrom, D.P. 1994. “Economic Opportunity in Mexico and Return Migration from the United States.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Miami.

  • López, G. 1986. La Casa Dividida: Un Estudio de Caso sobre Migración a Estados Unidos en un Pueblo Michoacano. Zamora, Michoacán: El Colegio de Michoacán.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lozano Ascencio, F. 1993. “Bringing it Back Home: Remittances to Mexico from Migrant Workers in the United States.” Monograph 37, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California at San Diego.

  • Martin, P.L. 1991. The Unfinished Story: Turkish Labour Migration to Western Europe. Geneva: International Labour Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D.S., R. Alarcón, J. Durand, and H. González. 1987. Return to Aztlan: The Social Process of International Migration from Western Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D.S., J. Arango, G. Hugo, A. Kouaouci, A. Pellegrino, and J.E. Taylor. 1993. “Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal.” Population and Development Review 19:431–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D.S. and L. Basem. 1992. “Determinants of Savings, Remittances, and Spending Patterns among Mexican Migrants to the United States.” Sociological Inquiry 62:186–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D.S. and E. Parrado. 1994. “Migradollars: The Remittances and Savings of Mexican Migrants to the United States.” Population Research and Policy Review 13:3–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mines, R. 1981. “Developing a Community Tradition of Migration: A Field Study in Rural Zacatecas, Mexico and California Settlement Areas.” Monograph 3, Program in United States Mexican Studies, University of California at San Diego.

  • Mines, R. and A. DeJanvry. 1982. “Migration to the United States and Mexican Rural Development: A Case Study.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 64:444–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolasco, M. 1991. “Ir al Norte, al Otro Lado.” Los Emigrantes: Supplement to La Jornada. México, DF, June 21.

  • North, D.S. and M.F. Houstoun. 1976. The Characteristics and Role of Illegal Aliens in the U.S. Labor Market: An Exploratory Study. Washington, DC: Linton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papademetriou, D.G. and P.L. Martin. 1991. The Unsettled Relationship: Labor Migration and Economic Development. New York: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, J.S. 1979. “The Migrant Syndrome: An Analysis of U.S. Migration and its Impact on a Rural Mexican Town.” Doctoral Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Princeton University.

  • —. 1981. “The Migrant Syndrome: Seasonal U.S. Wage Labor and Rural Development in Central Mexico.” Human Organization 40:56–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, J.S. and D.S. Massey. 1979. “Patterns of U.S. Migration from a Mexican Sending Community: A Comparison of Legal and Illegal Migrants.” International Migration Review 13:599–623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sassen, S. 1988. The Mobility of Labor and Capital: A Study in International Investment and Labor Flow. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shadow, R.D. 1979. “Differential Out-Migration: A Comparison of Internal and International Migration from Villa Guerrero, Jalisco (Mexico).” Pp. 67–84 in Migration across Frontiers: Mexico and the United States, edited by F. Camara and R. Van Kemper. Albany: Institute of Mesoamerican Studies, State University of New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer, A., J. Durand, and D.S. Massey. 1995. “Coming into the Country: The Social Process of Border Crossing among Undocumented Mexican Migrants.” Working Paper, Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania.

  • Somoza, J.L. 1981. “Indirect Estimates of Emigration: Applications of Two Procedures Using Information on Residence of Children and Siblings.” Pp. 25–60 in Indirect Procedures for Estimating Emigration, edited by the Working Group on the Methodology for the Study of International Migration. Liège: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stahl, C. and A. Habib. 1991. “Emigration and Development in South and Southeast Asia.” Pp. 163–80 in The Unsettled Relationship: Labor Migration and Economic Development, edited by D.G. Papademetriou and P. L. Martin. New York: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O. 1991. The Migration of Labor. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuart, J. and M. Kearney. 1981. “Causes and Effects of Agricultural Labor Migration from the Mixteca of Oaxaca to California.” Working Paper 28, Program in United States-Mexican Studies, University of California at San Diego.

  • Sudman, S. 1983. “Applied Sampling.” Pp. 145–94 in Handbook of Survey Research, edited by P.H. Rossi, J.D. Wright, and A.B. Anderson. Orlando: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J.E. 1986. “Differential Migration, Networks, Information and Risk.” Pp. 147-71 in Research in Human Capital and Development, Vol. 4: Migration, Human Capital, and Development, edited by O. Stark. Greenwich, CT: JAI.

  • —. 1987. “Undocumented Mexico-U.S. Migration and the Returns to Households in Rural Mexico.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 69:616–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1992. “Remittances and Inequality Reconsidered: Direct, Indirect, and Intertemporal Effects.” Journal of Policy Modeling 14:187–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J.E., J. Arango, G. Hugo, A. Kouaouci, D.S. Massey, and A. Pellegrino. Forthcoming a. “International Migration and National Development.” Population Index.

  • Taylor, J.E., J. Arango, G. Hugo, A. Kouaouci, D.S. Massey, and A. Pellegrino. Forthcoming b. “International Migration and Community Development.” Population Index.

  • Taylor, J.E., and T.J. Wyatt. Forthcoming. “The Shadow Value of Migrant Remittances, Income, and Inequality in a Household-Farm Economy.” Journal of Development Studies.

  • Todaro, M.P. 1976. Internal Migration in Developing Countries. Geneva: International Labour Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Todaro, M.P. and L. Maruszko. 1987. “Illegal Migration and U.S. Immigration Reform: A Conceptual Framework.” Population and Development Review 13:101–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trigueros, P. and J. Rodríguez. 1988. “Migración y Vida Familiar en Michoacán.” Pp. 201–21 in Migración en el Occidente de México, edited by G. Lopez. Zamora, Michoacán: EI Colegio de Michoacán.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiest, R.E. 1979. “Implications of International Labor Migration for Mexican Rural Development.” Pp. 85–97 in Migration across Frontiers: Mexico and the United States, edited by F. Camara and R. Van Kemper. Albany: Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, State University of New York at Albany.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1984. “External Dependency and the Perpetuation of Temporary Migration to the United States.” Pp. 110–35 in Patterns of Undocumented Migration: Mexico and the United States, edited by R.C. Jones. Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Allanheld.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Estudios sobre los Movimientos Sociales, Universidad de Guadalajara, Av. Alcalde y Maestros, Puerto No. 1, 44160, Guadalajara, Jalisco

    Jorge Durand

  2. Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA

    William Kandel & Douglas S. Massey

  3. Population Research Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Emilio A. Parrado

Authors
  1. Jorge Durand
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William Kandel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Emilio A. Parrado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Douglas S. Massey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jorge Durand.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Durand, J., Kandel, W., Parrado, E.A. et al. International migration and development in mexican communities. Demography 33, 249–264 (1996). https://doi.org/10.2307/2061875

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2061875

Keywords

Search

Navigation