Occupational Mobility among Returned Migrants in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis

Salvador D. Cobo, Silvia E. Giorguli and Francisco Alba
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Salvador D. Cobo: Mexicos National Polytechnic University
Silvia E. Giorguli: Colegio de Mexico
Francisco Alba: Colegio de Mexico

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2010, vol. 630, issue 1, 245-268

Abstract: This article draws on data from the Mexican Migration Project and the Latin American Migration Project to study patterns of occupational mobility among male migrant household heads who have returned from the United States to Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Puerto Rico. In general, migration to the United States increases the likelihood of upward mobility relative to nonmigrants if it begins at a relatively young age (before twenty-five), particularly in Costa Rica and Guatemala, where mobility is generally more fluid. In all countries, but especially Mexico, mobility prospects depend on a migrant’s own characteristics and the characteristics of the U.S. trip, as well the context of return. Education generally enhances occupational achievement upon return, as does greater U.S. experience and the holding of a nonmanual U.S. job, but taking more trips and having legal U.S. documents are generally associated with lower odds of occupational achievement at home.

Keywords: international migration; Latin America; Mexico; Caribbean; social mobility; occupational mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:anname:v:630:y:2010:i:1:p:245-268

DOI: 10.1177/0002716210368286

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