Labour Migration : A Study of Mexico´s labour flow to the United States

by Hedin, Andreas; Josefsson, Erik

Migration is an ancient phenomenon. However, it is a current issue between Mexico and the United States. With the help of regression analysis this thesis comes to the result that US wage rate, which is a pull factor, is the dominant variable in determing migration flow. The wage rate in Mexico, considered a push factor, has a contradictory effect to the the authors expectations, of positively affecting migration. This can be explained by the fact that migrants mostly come from the upper and middle segments of the income distrubution, hence when wages increase more people can afford to migrate. The uncertainty of income after migration, that could be represented by the probability of finding a job in the US, also plays a crucial part in the migration decision. ii