Mexico-U.S. Migration in Time: From Economic to Social Mechanisms

Date01 July 2019
DOI10.1177/0002716219847148
Published date01 July 2019
60 ANNALS, AAPSS, 684, July 2019
DOI: 10.1177/0002716219847148
Mexico-U.S.
Migration in
Time: From
Economic to
Social
Mechanisms
By
ASAD L. ASAD
and
FILIZ GARIP
847148ANN The Annals of The American AcademyMEXICO-U.S. MIGRATION IN TIME
research-article2019
This article adopts a mixed-methods approach to illus-
trate how economic, political, and social mechanisms
work across time to shape individuals’ migration deci-
sions. First, using large-scale survey data from the
Mexican Migration Project, we show that economic,
political, and social factors all matter for migration
decisions but that social factors come to matter most
for migration over time. Second, drawing on 120 in-
depth interviews with migrants and their family mem-
bers in four Mexican communities, we find that
communities’ migration histories shape how economic,
political, and social factors contribute to migration
decisions at different points in time. In communities
with limited migration histories, individuals migrate to
relieve economic pressures on themselves or other
household members. In communities with more estab-
lished migration histories, information and assistance
from current or returned migrants help to overcome
potential barriers to making the journey. Finally, in
communities with a high incidence of migration, social
factors act as independent causes of migration—apart
from economic needs. These findings provide a deeper
understanding of the processes underlying Mexico-U.S.
migration, which is crucial for anticipating future flows
and crafting policy responses.
Keywords: international migration; social networks;
mixed methods; Mexico; United States
The Mexican-origin immigrant population in
the United States has increased twentyfold
since 1960 to peak at approximately 12 million
in 2010 (Passel et al. 2014). A vast literature
attributes this pattern to distinct economic,
political, and social theories of migration. Some
theories suggest that individuals move for
Asad L. Asad served as a postdoctoral fellow at the
Center for the Study of Inequality at Cornell University
before joining the faculty of Stanford University as an
assistant professor of sociology in 2019. His work
focuses on social stratification, migration and immi-
grant incorporation, and race/ethnicity.
Correspondence: asadasad@stanford.edu
MEXICO-U.S. MIGRATION IN TIME 61
economically motivated reasons, such as in response to wage differentials
between an origin and a destination country (Harris and Todaro 1970; Sjaastad
1962) or to guard against insurance or credit market failures at places of origin
(Stark and Bloom 1985; Taylor 1987). Another theoretical tradition explains
international migration as a product of political processes that have produced
economic interdependence between developed and developing world regions
(Castells and Laserna 1989; Sassen 1991, 1988). A final perspective known as the
cumulative causation theory of migration highlights the importance of social ties
between individuals in origin and migrants in destination for initiating and sus-
taining international movement (Massey 1990). Scholars have found empirical
support for each of these theories under certain conditions (see Garip [2016] for
a review), but research is ambivalent about how economic, political, and social
factors contribute differentially to migration flows across time.
This article adopts a mixed-methods approach to illustrate how changing eco-
nomic, political, and social mechanisms work over time to shape individuals’
migration decisions. First, we analyze data from 92,527 individuals (and 16,026
U.S. migrants) surveyed by the Mexican Migration Project (MMP124) to esti-
mate models showing that these three types of factors matter in first-time migra-
tion decisions. We then adopt a temporal perspective and scrutinize an untested
claim of cumulative causation theory—that the proliferation of connections to
prior migrants over time reduces the effect of economic or political indicators on
migration propensities. We find evidence that social factors matter more for
migration as migrant networks expand over time, net of economic and political
considerations.
Second, drawing on 120 in-depth interviews with migrants and their family
members in four Mexican communities, we describe how a community’s migra-
tion history shapes how economic, political, and social factors contribute to indi-
viduals’ migration decisions. In communities with limited migration histories,
individuals report they migrate to relieve economic pressures within the house-
hold. In communities with established migration histories, the growing presence
of current and returned migrants provides information on the likely economic
efficacy of a U.S. trip and helps to overcome social, psychological, and economic
barriers to initiating U.S. migration. Finally, in communities with a high inci-
dence of migration, social factors tend to become independent drivers of migra-
tion—inducing individuals to make a trip to the United States even in the
absence of financial need.
Our findings advance scholarship on international migration in several ways.
First, our multiple methods extend research that views migration as a social
Filiz Garip is a professor of sociology at Cornell University, where she directs the Center for
the Study of the Economy and Society. Her work focuses on the intersections between migra-
tion, economic sociology, and inequality. She is the author of the book On the Move: Changing
Mechanisms of Mexico-U.S. Migration (Princeton University Press 2016).
NOTE: We thank Alba Villamil for comments on an earlier version of this article. Audiences
at the Harvard Migration and Immigrant Incorporation Workshop and the Weatherhead
Center for International Affairs also offered helpful suggestions. All errors are authorial.

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