The Importance of Education–Occupation Matching During a Period of Changing Mexican Migration

Sarah Pearlman () and Stephen Rubb
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Sarah Pearlman: Vassar College
Stephen Rubb: Sacred Heart University

Eastern Economic Journal, 2025, vol. 51, issue 3, No 3, 373-402

Abstract: Abstract Labor market conditions in Mexico influence migration flows to the U.S. This paper examines the education–occupation match and its impact on migration before and after the Great Recession. Using detailed Mexican labor market data we find that men with higher education than their occupation typically requires are more likely to migrate. This trend intensified after 2008, resulting in a shift in the profile of migrants. Migrants are now more educated than before, a finding confirmed by U.S. data. Meanwhile, the gap between their education and their Mexican occupation’s requirements widened. These changes may affect their integration into the U.S. economy.

Keywords: Mexico-U.S. migration; International migration; Education–occupation mismatch (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 O15 O54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1057/s41302-025-00298-5

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