The labor market effects of Mexican repatriations: Longitudinal evidence from the 1930s

Jongkwan Lee, Giovanni Peri and Vasil Yasenov

Journal of Public Economics, 2022, vol. 205, issue C

Abstract: We examine the consequences of a significant return-migration episode, during which at least 400,000 Mexicans returned to Mexico between 1929 and 1934, on U.S. workers’ labor market outcomes. To identify a causal effect, we instrument the county-level drop in Mexican population with the size of the Mexican communities in 1910 and its interaction with proxies of repatriation costs. Using individual-level linked Census data from 1930–1940, we find that Mexican repatriations resulted in reduced employment and occupational downgrading for U.S. natives. These patterns were stronger for low-skilled workers and for workers in urban locations.

Keywords: Mexican repatriations; Great depression; Employment; Immigration; Railway (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J15 J21 J61 N32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Labor Market Effects of Mexican Repatriations: Longitudinal Evidence from the 1930s (2019)
Working Paper: The Labor Market Effects of Mexican Repatriations: Longitudinal Evidence from the 1930s (2019)
Working Paper: The Labor Market Effects of Mexican Repatriations: Longitudinal Evidence from the 1930s (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:205:y:2022:i:c:s0047272721001948

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104558

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