Migration Propensities, Patterns, and the Role of Human Capital: Comparing Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican Interstate Migration, 1985–1990

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This paper expands the human capital model to compare the migration propensities of Cubans, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans within the U.S. between 1985 and 1990. Using the 5% PUMS from the 1990 U.S. Census, both aggregate migration streams and micro-level migration propensities are estimated for Cubans, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans. The effects of personal factors, the economic environment, and the presence of fellow nationals are examined in the context of larger geographic patterns, and discussed in terms of each nationality's immigration history and cultural context. While many factors effect migration behavior similarly, there are notable differences in the way education, English fluency, and unemployment rate affect migration propensity of the native-born and foreign-born of each nationality. Differences are also apparent at the macro-level. Puerto Ricans show signs of dispersing out of New York; Mexicans are redistributing within the Southwest; and Cubans are re-concentrating in Florida. Both levels of analysis point to how immigration history, settlement patterns, and cultural context influence migration behavior. The results demonstrate the benefits of using an expanded human capital approach to explain migration differences, and highlight the diversity of population redistribution occurring within Hispanic nationalities.