Repeat Migration and Cumulative Remittances as Mechanisms for Wealth Inequality in Mexico

To evaluate the distributional impact of remittances in origin communities, prior research studiedhow migrants’ selectivity by wealth varies with migration prevalence in the community or priormigration experience of the individual. This study considers both patterns, and examinesselectivity separately in low and high prevalence communities and for first-time and repeatmigrants. Based on data from 18,042 household heads in 119 Mexican communities from theMexican Migration Project, the analyses show that (i) first-time migrants in low prevalencecommunities come from poor households, while repeat migrants in high prevalence communitiesbelong to wealthy households, and (ii) higher amounts of remittances reach wealthy households.These results suggest that repeat migration and remittances may be mechanisms for wealthaccumulation in the study communities. Descriptive analyses associate these mechanisms withincreasing wealth disparities between households with and without migrants, especially in highprevalence communities. The study, similar to prior findings, shows the importance of repeatmigration trips, which, given sustained remittances, may amplify the wealth gap betweenmigrants and non-migrants in migrant-sending communities. The study also qualifies priorfindings by differentiating between low and high prevalence communities and observing agrowing wealth gap only in the latter.