datapoints from YouNotSneaky today. (Why is it that I trust
an anonymous blog on such things? I’m not entirely clear on that; neither
is Tyler Cowen.)
- Mexicans who wind up back in Mexico after being in US – whether through
their own choice or cause they got their asses deported – earn 20% more than
the Mexicans who’ve never been to US.
- The wage premium (US wages vs. Mexican wages) IS NOT the highest for the
poorest parts of Mexico. An immigrant from Chiapas or Oaxaca gets a big bonus
compared to what they were making back home, but once you control for education
and skill level, an immigrant from Mexico City actually gets, in percentage
terms, way way more.
The second datapoint might be weakened by the "once you control for"
bit, since it’s not clear how that works. If we’re just taking a simple ratio
here, of US wages divided by the same person’s Mexican wages, why do you need
any control at all?
But the first datapoint certainly strengthens the case of those who would implement
a guest-worker program in the US, especially if it’s combined with a rise in
programs such as Construmex,
where US earnings are used to build a house in Mexico which the remitter is
going to want to live in.