The Role of Human and Social Capital in the Geographic Mobility and Annual Earnings among Mexican Immigrants

Abstract

The Mexican-origin population continues to be concentrated predominantly in the Southwest, a pattern found among both native- and foreign-born persons. This analysis draws from the human capital and social capital perspectives to examine the impact of human capital and social capital on the outmigration of Mexican immigrants from the Southwest to other regions of the country between 1985 and 1990, the period associated with the initial migration of Mexicans to new-destination areas. In addition, insights from these two perspectives are also used to assess their influence on the earnings of persons who left the Southwest during this period. The analysis is based on data from the 1990 Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) and includes 46, 120 foreign-born persons of Mexican-origin who lived in the Southwest in 1985. The results suggest that both human capital and social capital have an impact on the outmigration of Mexican immigrants, with the former varying by length of residence in the United States. Further...