Place of origin and the earnings of internal migrants in Mexico

This paper examines the relationship between adult earnings of internal migrants in Mexico and the level of development of the place where they grew up, to understand whether being born and growing up in a disadvantaged place has any influence on the earnings of adult emigrants. Controlling for self-selection into migration and labour market participation, results suggest that growing up in a disadvantaged place is associated with significantly lower earnings among adults, and that emigrating does not weaken this relationship: migrants who grew up in a poorer place earn significantly less than migrants with similar characteristics but who grew up in a richer place. Results also suggest that growing up in a richer place is associated with higher adult earnings primarily because it increases the human capital of the migrant and of her network, and because it leads to more positive attitudes and beliefs about the future.