New migratory dynamics, north of the border, across the border, and below the border: Three essays examining internal and Mexico-United States migration

This dissertation examines three interrelated aspects of migratory dynamics of internal migration and international migration from Mexico to the United States. The first essay examines changes in internal migration in the United States over the period 1970-2000. This essay focuses on industrial restructuring within three industries in the United States—manufacturing, finance, and high technology. The results reveal that high concentrations of high-technology and finance occupations generally have a positive pull for migrants, with younger migrants most attracted to technology jobs. High-concentrations of manufacturing jobs have a negative effect. Most surprisingly, the explanatory power of the model declines substantially across the three decades. Overall, these results suggest that the pattern of migration among internal movers became more uniform between distinct metropolitan areas in the United States over the period 1970 to 2000. The second essay examines changes in the geographic settlement of Mexican Migrants heading to the United States, and the pioneers to these destinations. The results find that migrants from newer origins in Mexico (particularly the states of Puebla and Veracruz) were more likely to head to newer destinations in the United States, and that pioneers to these destinations tended to have fewer social ties and higher levels of education than later arrivals. Contrary to historic patterns, there is no evidence to suggest that women systematically arrived later than men. This finding may indicate either that pioneers migrants to new destinations included a higher level of family migration among early migrants than the historic pioneer migrants to traditional destination—or that the women simply have not arrived to new destinations. The last essay examines the changing dynamics of internal migration in Mexico, and their relationship with the new patterns of international migration. This study estimates a competing risks event-history analysis measuring the likelihood of migrating internally within Mexico or migrating internationally to the United States. The results demonstrate that international migration increased steadily over the 1965-2006 period, while internal migration declined. Additionally the composition of the international migrant population changed to include more skilled and professional males over time, especially in the post 1990 period. In conjunction these three essays suggest an increased level of international migration, and a more even geography of both internal and international movers