A state-to-state analysis of Mexican migration to the U.S.

摘要

The determinants of undocumented immigration flows from Mexican states to U.S. states utilizing data recently released by the Mexican consulate are analyzed. The impact of economic, demographic, and geographic factors on immigrant location choice in the year 2007 is analyzed using ordinary least squares, tobit, and two stage least squares to control for factors likely to be endogenous with immigration. The results generally support that immigrants tend to migrate towards states with higher Mexican immigrant populations, shorter distances, higher wages, and smaller populations. In addition, the relationship between undocumented immigration and economic freedom and the policy measures used to construct the economic freedom index are analyzed. Tax revenues and government transfers and subsidies as a percentage of GDP demonstrate a negative association with immigration. The results also point to a positive relationship between the minimum wage and immigration.