Agrarian Structure and Labor Migration in Rural Mexico: The Case of Circular Migration of Undocumented Workers to the U.S.

摘要

The purpose of the study is to determine the specific agricultural conditions in Mexico which cause off-farm wage labor to take the form of undocumented migration to the U.S. The report reviews economic and anthropological migration literature and develops a migration model which is applied to 4 rural areas of Mexico. The principal conclusion to emerge from this research is that regional agricultural development will not necessarily stem the flow of migratory wage labor to the U.S. The Bajio, which contributed most heavily to the U.S. migration stream, was the most developed of the 4 zones studied, and within this zone there were no significant differences between migrant and non-migrant households with respect to most economic indicators. Migrant households were found to be significantly larger through the incorporation of more adult members into the extended family. Higher farm incomes in that zone permit more individuals to claim a share of farm production, while lower farm labor requirements and higher cash outlays dictate that the majority of labor by these members will be in off-farm occupations. This household structure encourages U.S. migration by partially off-setting through occupational diversification the higher level of risk associated with this activity.