Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Occupational Mobility of Return Migrants: Lessons from North America

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Demography of Europe

Abstract

Temporary-labor migration is viewed in many European countries as a way to meet the demand for low-skilled workers without incurring the social costs of immigrant incorporation. An underlying assumption of this strategy is that workers will return to their home countries at the end of their labor contracts. Research on the economic fortunes of return migrants has largely focused on the use of migrant savings for business formation, but little is known about the occupational trajectories of return migrants who do not make capital investments. This chapter seeks to fill this gap in the migration literature by examining the impact of return migration and cumulative migration experience on the occupational mobility of Mexico-United States migrants who return to Mexico. The North American case shares many parallels with contemporary migration patterns in Europe and can highlight factors that influence the transferability of financial and human capital acquired from migration to source country labor markets—a key element of the current rationale for temporary-migration programs. Occupational and migration histories collected in 88 Mexican communities by the Mexican Migration Project are used to estimate hazard regression models of occupational transitions and logistic regression models of life-time occupational mobility. Results suggest that return migrants encounter difficulties in returning to occupations similar to the ones they held in Mexico prior to migration to the United States, and that migrants in general do not realize long-term occupational gains in Mexico from U.S. work experience.

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Professional occupation spells are excluded from the model of upward mobility because there is no occupational category above professional. Similarly, farm worker spells are excluded from the model of downward mobility because there is no occupational category below farm worker.

  2. 2.

    Legal documents includes legal resident (Green card), citizenship, Silva letter (special status given primarily to Mexican immigrants in the late 1970s that led to legal residency in the 1980s, and refugee or asylum status.

  3. 3.

    The index of employment opportunities is constructed from the female labor force participation rate, the proportion of economically active females working in the service sector, the proportion of economically active females working in manufacturing, the proportion of economically active males working in the service sector, the proportion of economically active males working in the manufacturing sector, the proportion of economically active adults who are employers, the proportion of economically active adults earning more than twice the minimum wage, and the municipal population. Principal components analysis was used to construct a composite index of employment opportunities for each municipality in each of the six census years (1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000). Linear interpolation was used to estimate values of the index in the intercensal years, and the value of the index in 2000 was used for the years 2001 and 2002 in communities that were surveyed after 2000.

  4. 4.

    By definition, the occupation in the life history remains unchanged until an occupational transition is made in Mexico.

References

  • Alba, F. (2010). Mexico: a crucial crossroads. Country Profiles February 2010. Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amin, M., & Mattoo, A. (2005). Does temporary migration have to be permanent? Policy Research Working Paper Series WPS3582, World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arango, J., & Martin, P. (2005). Best practices to manage migration: Morocco-Spain. International Migration Review, 39(1), 258–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azam, F. (1991). Labour migration from Pakistan: Trends, impacts, and implications. Regional Development Dialogue, 12(3), 53–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrell, R., Fitzgerald, J., & Riley, R. (2010). EU enlargement and migration: Assessing the macroeconomic impacts. Journal of Common Market Studies, 48(2), 373–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, A., & O’Connell, P. J. (2001). Is there a wage premium for returning Irish migrants? The Economic and Social Review, 32(1), 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bengtsson, T., & Scott, K. (2011). Population aging and the future of the welfare state: The example of Sweden. Population and Development Review, 37 (Supplement), 158–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg, E. J. (1961). Backward-sloping labor supply functions in dual economies—The Africa case. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 75(3), 468–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bijak, J., Kupiszewska, D., & Kupiszewski, M. (2008). Replacement migration revisited: Simulations of the effects of selected population and labor market strategies for the aging Europe, 2002–2052. Population Research and Policy Review, 27, 321–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, D. M., & Robins, P. K. (1990). Job search outcomes for the employed and unemployed. Journal of Political Economy, 98(3), 637–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calavita, K. (1992). Inside the state: The Bracero program, immigration, and the I.N.S. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carletto, C., & Kilic, T. (2009). Moving up the ladder? The impact of migration experience on occupational mobility in Albania. Policy Research Working Paper 4908, The World Bank, Development Research Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castles, S. (2006). Guestworkers in Europe: A resurrection? International Migration Review, 40(4), 741–766.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, D. (2006). Immigration and ethnic change in low-fertility countries: A third demographic transition. Population and Development Review, 32(3), 401–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, D., & Rowthorn, R. (2004). The economic effects of immigration into the United Kingdom. Population and Development Review, 30(4), 579–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, D., & Rowthorn, R. (2011). Who’s afraid of population decline? A critical examination of its consequences. Population and Development Review, 37 (Supplement), 217–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Commission of the European Communities (2005). Migration and development: Some concrete orientations. COM(2005): 390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constant, A. F., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2011). Circular and repeat migration: Counts of exits and years away from the host country. Population Research and Policy Review, 30(4), 495–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Co, C. Y., Gang, I. N., & Yun, M. (2000). Returns to returning. Journal of Population Economics, 13, 57–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Coulon, A., & Piracha, M. (2005). Self-selection and the performance of return migrants: The source country perspective. Journal of Population Economics, 18, 779–807.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Homeland Security (2009). Yearbook of immigration statistics; 2009. www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/publications/YrBh09N1.shtm.

  • Djajić, S., & Michael, M. S. (2009). Temporary migration policies and welfare of the host and source countries: A game-theoretic approach. CESifo Working Paper No. 2811.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dustmann, C., & Kirchkamp, O. (2002). The optimal migration duration and activity choice after re-migration. Journal of Development Economics, 67, 351–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engbersen, G., & Broeders, D. (2009). The state versus the alien: Immigration control and strategies of irregular immigrants. West European Politics, 32(5), 867–885.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fassmann, H., & Munz, R. (1992). Patterns and trends of international migration in Western Europe. Population and Development Review, 18(3), 457–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finotelli, C., & Sciortino, G. (2009). The importance of being southern: The making of policies of immigration control in Italy. European Journal of Migration and Law, 11, 119–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flinn, C. J., & Heckman, J. J. (1982). New methods for analyzing individual event histories. In S. Leinhardt (Ed.), Sociological methodology (pp. 99–140). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grieco, E. M., & Trevelyan, E. N. (2010). Place of birth of the foreign-born population: 2009. American Community Survey Briefs, Oct 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckman, J. J., & Singer, B. (1984). A method for minimizing the impact of distributional assumptions in econometric models for duration data. Econometrica, 52, 271–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, J. K. (1987). Immigrant decisions concerning duration of stay and migratory frequency. Journal of Development Economics, 25, 221–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoekman, B., & Özden, C. (2010). The euro-mediterranean partnership: Trade in services as an alternative to migration? Journal of Common Market Studies, 48(4), 835–857.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollifield, J. F. (1994). Immigration and republicanism in France: The hidden consensus. In W. Cornelius, P. L. Martin, & J. F. Hollifield (Eds.), Controlling immigration: A global perspective (pp. 143–175). Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, M., Trappers, A., Meuleman, B., & Reeskens, T. (2008). Migration to European countries: A structural explanation of patterns, 1980–2004. International Migration Review, 42(2), 476–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hugo, G. (1982). Circular migration in Indonesia. Population and Development Review, 8(1), 59–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ilahi, N. (1999). Return migration and occupational change. Review of Development Economics, 3(2), 170–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IOM (International Organization for Migration). (2010). Managing return migration. Geneva: International Organization for Migration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jandl, M. (2007). Irregular migration, human smuggling, and the eastern enlargement of the European Union. International Migration Review, 41(2), 291–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacoby, N. (2003). America’s de facto guest workers: Lessons from Germany’s Gastarbeiter for U.S. immigration reform. Fordham International Law Journal, 27(4), 1569–1662.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasper, H. (1967). The asking price of labor and the duration of unemployment. Review of Economics and Statistics, 49, 165–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konseiga, A. (2006). Household migration decisions as survival strategy: The case of Burkina Faso. Journal of African Economies, 1–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kosic, A., & Triandafyllidou, A. (2004). Albanian and Polish migration to Italy: The micro-processes of policy, implementation and immigrant survival strategies. International Migration Review, 38(4), 1413–1446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • León-Ledesma, M., & Piracha, M. (2004). International migration and the role of remittances in Eastern Europe. International Migration, 42(4), 65–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindstrom, D. P. (1996). Economic opportunity in Mexico and return migration from the United States. Demography, 33(3), 357–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindstrom, D. P., & Lauster, N. (1999). Local economic opportunity and the competing risks of internal and U.S. migration in Zacatecas, Mexico. International Migration Review, 35(4), 1232–1256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippman, S. A., & McCall, J. J. (1976). The economics of job search: A survey. Part I. Economic Inquiry, 14, 155–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marques, H. (2010). Migration creation and diversion in the European Union: Is Central and Eastern Europe a ‘natural’ member of the single market for labour? Journal of Common Market Studies, 48(2), 265–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P. (2006). Managing labor migration: temporary worker programmes for the 21st century. International symposium on international migration and development, population division, department of economic and social affairs, United Nations Secretariat, Turin, 28–30 June 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Alarcón, R., Durand, J., & González, H. (1987). Return to Aztlan: The social process of international migration from Western Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Durand, J., & Malone, N. J. (2002). Beyond smoke and mirrors: Mexican immigration in an era of economic integration. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., & Liang, Z. (1989). The long-term consequences of a temporary worker program: The U.S. Bracero experience. Population Research and Policy Review, 8, 199–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., & Parrado, E. A. (1998). International migration and business formation in Mexico. Social Science Quarterly, 79(1), 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattila, J. P. (1974). Job quitting and frictional unemployment. The American Economic Review, 64(1), 235–239.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCormick, B., & Wahba, J. (2004). Return international migration and geographical inequality: The case of Egypt. United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research, Research Paper No. 2004/7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery, J. (1991). Social networks and labor-market outcomes: Toward an economic analysis. American Economic Review, 81(5), 1408–1418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mortensen, D. T. (1986). Job search and labor market analysis. In O. Ashenfelter & R. Layard (Eds.), Handbook of Labor Economics (Vol. II, pp. 849–919). New York: Elsevier Science Publisher.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Oucho, J. O. (1998). Recent internal migration processes in Sub-Saharan Africa: Determinants, consequences, and data adequacy issues. In R. E. Bilsborrow (Ed.), Migration, urbanization, and development: New directions and issues (pp. 89–120). New York: United Nations Population Fund and Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Papademetriou, D. G., Meissner, D., Rosenblum, M. R., & Sumption, M. (2009). Aligning temporary immigration visas with US labor market needs: The case for a new system of provisional visas. Washington: Migration Policy Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkes, R. (2009). EU mobility partnerships: A model of policy coordination? European Journal of Migration and Law, 11, 327–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, D. O. (1973). Quit rates over time: A search and information approach. The American Economic Review, 63(3), 390–401.

    Google Scholar 

  • Passel, J. S. and Cohn, D. (2009). Mexican immigrants: How many come? How many leave? Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center (22 July 2009).

    Google Scholar 

  • Passel, J. S. and Cohn, D. (2010). U.S. unauthorized immigrant flows are down sharply since mid-decade. Washington: Pew Hispanic Center (1 Sept 2010).

    Google Scholar 

  • Passel, J. S. & Cohn, D. (2011). Unauthorized immigrant population: National and state trends, 2010. Washington: Pew Hispanic Center (1 Feb 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  • Peixoto, J. (2009). New migrations in Portugal: Labour markets, smuggling and gender segmentation. International Migration, 47(3), 185–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piore, M. J. (1979). Birds of passage: Migrant labor and industrial societies. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pissarides, C. A. (1992). Loss of skill during unemployment and the persistence of employment shocks. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(4), 1371–1391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plaza, D. (2008). Transnational return migration to the English-speaking Caribbean. Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 24(1), 115–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reichert, J. S. (1981). The migrant syndrome: Seasonal U.S. wage labor and rural development in central Mexico. Human Organization, 40(1), 56–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reyes, B. I. (2001). Immigrant trip duration: The case of immigrants from Western Mexico. International Migration Review, 35(4), 1185–1204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruhs, M., & Anderson, B. (2010). Semi-compliance and illegality in migrant labour markets: An analysis of migrants, employers and the state in the UK. Population Space and Place, 16, 195–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruhs, M., & Martin, P. (2008). Numbers vs. rights: Trade-offs and guest worker programs. International Migration Review, 42(1), 249–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rye, J. F., & Andrzejewska, J. (2010). The structural disempowerment of Eastern European migrant farm workers in Norwegian agriculture. Journal of Rural Studies, 26, 41–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwab, S. J. (1999). Employment discrimination. In B. Bouckaert & G. De Geest (Eds.), Encyclopedia of law and economics (pp. 1–22). Aldershot: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, O. (1991). The migration of labor. Cambridge: Basil Blackwell Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. E. (1999). The new economics of labour migration and the role of remittances in the migration process. International Migration, 37(1), 63–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ünver, O.C. (2006). Current discussions in the German integration debate: The culturalist vision vs. social equity? Revue européenne des migrations internationales, 22(3), 2–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau (2009). Current population survey, annual social and economic supplement.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, J., & Folmer, H. (1985). Entry of the unemployed into employment: Theory, methodology and Dutch experience. Regional Studies, 19(3), 243–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vasileva, K. (2010). Foreigners living in the EU are diverse and largely younger than the nationals of the EU member states. Eurostat Statistics in Focus 45/2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walmsley, T., & Winters, A. L. (2005). Relaxing the restrictions on the temporary movement of natural persons: A simulation analysis. Journal of Economic Integration, 20(4), 688–726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winters, L. A., Walmsley, T. L., Wang, Z. K., & Grynberg, R. (2003). Liberalising temporary movement of natural persons: An agenda for the development round. World Economy, 26(8), 1137–1161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, C. H. (1981). Structural changes and household strategies: A conceptual framework for the study of rural migration. Human Organization, 40(4), 338–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodruff, C., & Zenteno, R. (2007). Migration networks and microenterprises in Mexico. Journal of Development Economics, 82, 509–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Studies and Training Center, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    David P. Lindstrom

Authors
  1. David P. Lindstrom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David P. Lindstrom .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Sociology, Stockholm University, Universitetsvägen 10B, Stockholm, 106-91, Sweden

    Gerda Neyer

  2. Dept. Sociology, Stockholm University, Universitetsvägen 10B, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden

    Gunnar Andersson

  3. Dept. Geography, University of Liverpool, Roxby Bldg., Liverpool, L69 7ZT, United Kingdom

    Hill Kulu

  4. , Life Course and Inequality Research Cent, University of Lausanne, Bâtiment Vidy, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland

    Laura Bernardi

  5. , Institute of Sociology, Leibniz University Hannover, Schneiderberg 50, Hannover, 30167, Germany

    Christoph Bühler

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lindstrom, D.P. (2013). The Occupational Mobility of Return Migrants: Lessons from North America. In: Neyer, G., Andersson, G., Kulu, H., Bernardi, L., Bühler, C. (eds) The Demography of Europe. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8978-6_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation