Recovering the counterfactual wage distribution with selective return migration

Type Journal Article - Labour Economics
Title Recovering the counterfactual wage distribution with selective return migration
Author(s)
Volume 38
Issue 1
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2017
Page numbers 59-80
URL http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/48695/1/final_submitted.pdf
Abstract
This paper recovers the distribution of wages for Mexican-born workers living in the U.S. if no return migration of Mexican-born workers occurred. Because migrants self-select in the decision to return, the overarching problem addressed by this study is the use of an estimator that also accounts for selection on unobservables. I find that Mexican returnees are middle- to high-wage earners at all levels of educational attainment. Taking into account self-selection in return migration, wages would be approximately 7.7% higher at the median and 4.5% higher at the mean. Owing to positive self-selection, the immigrant-native wage gap would, therefore, partially close if there was no return migration.

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