Self-Employed Mexican Immigrants Residing along the U.S.-Mexico Border: The Earnings Effect of Working in the U.S. versus Mexico

• Published in: The International migration review Vol. 40; no. 4; pp. 885 - 898
• Main Author: Mora, Marie T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01-12-2006; Blackwell Publishing; Blackwell
• Subjects: Average earnings; Borderlands; Borders; Coefficients; Earned income; Economic sociology; Entrepreneurs; Human ecology and demography; Immigrants; International borders; International migration; Mexican American people; Mexican Americans; Mexico; Proprietors; Self employment; Sociology; Sociology of economy and development; Sociology of migrations; Standard of living. Income; United States of America; USA; Variable coefficients; Wages; United States Of America; Mexico; Mexican; Immigrant; Income; Economic activity; Workplace; Localization; Boundary
• ISSN: 0197-9183; 1747-7379
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-7379.2006.00047.x

This study uses U.S. census data from the year 2000 to analyze the earnings of Mexican immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border while accounting for the location in which they work. The empirical results indicate that Mexican entrepreneurs who live in U.S.-border cities but primarily operate in Mexico accrue a significant earnings premium over their entrepreneurial and salaried counterparts working on the U.S. side of the border, even after controlling for differences in observable characteristics. This work-location earnings gap widens when focusing on Mexican business owners lacking U.S. citizenship. It follows that policies which reduce trade and labor flows across the U.S.-Mexico border may inadvertently dampen the entrepreneurial activities of foreign-born residents in U.S.-border cities.