Accounting for Spatial Heterogeneity in Educational Outcomes and International Migration in Mexico

Abstract

This paper analyzes the link between international migration and educational attainment of the Mexican youth at the municipality level in 2000. This approach examines spatial heterogeneity in such relationship by testing two regionalization proposals, through spatial regime models. On one hand, we test well-known hypothesis that geographical differences obey to the historical-migratory trajectory of each region. On the other hand, we propose a model that accounts for the spatial differences based on the interface of migration and labor markets performance. Results suggest a large, negative effect of international migration on educational achievement, and strong spatial heterogeneity in that association. Results from groupwise heteroskedastic spatial regimes support the second hypothesis, since it captures better the spatial variability, as well as the behavior of the international migration variable across these regimes. These outcomes highlight the need to use proper geostatistical methods to examine territorial disparities.