We use data from three rounds of the Mexican Family Life Survey to examine whether migrants in the United States returning to Mexico in the period 2005–2012 have worse health than those remaining in the United States. Despite extensive interest by demographers in health-related selection, this has been a neglected area of study in the literature on U.S.-Mexico migration, and the few results to date have been contradictory and inconclusive. Using five self-reported health variables collected while migrants resided in the United States and subsequent migration history, we find direct evidence of higher probabilities of return migration for Mexican migrants in poor health as well as lower probabilities of return for migrants with improving health. These findings are robust to the inclusion of potential confounders reflecting the migrants’ demographic characteristics, economic situation, family ties, and origin and destination characteristics. We anticipate that in the coming decade, health may become an even more salient issue in migrants’ decisions about returning to Mexico, given the recent expansion in access to health insurance in Mexico.

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In Mexico, offspring migration disrupts familial norms of coresidence and geographic proximity. This paper examines how offspring migration, both domestically and to the United States, affects the emotional and psychological well-being of parents who remain in the place of origin. Using nationally-representative longitudinal data from the Mexican Family Life Survey (N=4,718), we found limited evidence that parents whose offspring emigrated to the United States experience worse outcomes than parents of offspring who do not migrate. Although we found that offspring U.S. migration was not associated with changes in parents’ overall depressive syndrome, a child’s U.S. migration increased the likelihood of experiencing loneliness, and lead to a lower likelihood of recovery from parental sadness over time. Children’s domestic migration did not affect parental well-being. These findings add to a growing body of literature that should be considered when assessing the broader impact of migration on family members who remain behind.

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Este artículo examina el impacto del Seguro Popular (SP) en la utilización de servicios de salud, en el gasto de los hogares en salud y en el mercado laboral. El análisis se realiza por género y origen de la población (urbano y rural) utilizando datos longitudinales de la Encuesta Nacional sobre Niveles de Vida de los Hogares (ENNViH), y el método de emparejamiento de marcadores de propensión. En general, se observa que el SP no ha tenido un impacto en el número de hospitalizaciones y consultas externas, con excepción de las mujeres de origen urbano. El análisis por institución muestra que el SP ha provocado un incremento en la consulta ofrecida en establecimientos de la Secretaría de Salud (SSA) en poblaciones urbanas. Adicionalmente, se observa que el SP ha tenido un impacto negativo en la cobertura del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) y en el empleo formal de las mujeres de origen urbano, y de los hombres de origen rural. En el ámbito del hogar, no se encuentra ningún impacto en el gasto en salud