The Impact of Temporary Labor Migration on Mexican Children's Educational Aspirations and Performance

Abstract

This article examines how temporary U.S. labor migration by family members and by students affects the educational aspirations and performance of those same students growing up in Mexican migrant communities. Labor migration affects these children in two ways. First it brings remitted U.S. earnings into the household which allows parents to provide more education for their children and reduce the need for children's labor. Higher incomes are also associated with numerous factors that improve the general well‐being of children, as reflected in various indicators including higher school grades. Labor migration also has negative impacts on children. In addition to family stress and behavioral problems with adolescents due to parental and sibling absence, migration provides an example of an alternative route to economic mobility. Children growing up in migrant households have access to information and social networks that reduce their likelihood of migration failure should they choose this alternative to the Mexican labor market. We analyze a unique data set from a stratified random sample of 7600 grammar, junior high, and high school‐level students in a state capital, a large town, and 25 rural communities in a Mexican migrant‐sending state. We find that high levels of U.S. migration are associated with lower aspirations to attend a university at all academic levels. We find, however, a positive relationship between U.S. migration and grades. We conclude that while U.S. migration provides financial benefits that allow children to continue schooling and perform well, it may also reduce the motivation to attain above‐average years of schooling.

Remittances, schooling, and child labor in Mexico

“…In particular, remittance receipts from family members working abroad could lead to higher school retention and lower child labor, especially if they relax liquidity constraints (Taylor, 1992;Taylor and Wyatt, 1996). This effect, however, may be offset by low perceived returns to education, given the job that children are expected to find in the U.S. if they are to migrate themselves in the future, or by the fact that migration may disrupt family life and, thus, have negative effects on school attendance (Kandel and Kao, 2001;McKenzie and Rapoport, 2010;McKenzie and Sasin, 2007). Furthermore, if by relaxing credit constraints remittances lead households to start new family businesses, an increase of child labor may also be induced.…”

Who Goes, Who Stays, and Who Studies? Gender, Migration, and Educational Decisions among Rural Youth in China

“…Outside of China, Kandel and Kao (2001), using data collected in Mexico, found that students from areas with more past migration to the U.S. had lower academic aspirations.…”

Migracja i edukacja: czy transnarodowe rodzicielstwo wpływa na osiągnięcia szkolne niemobilnych dzieci?

“…Analizę prowadzono, kontrolując płeć ucznia i specyfikę społeczności lokalnej. Kandel (2003) wykazał ponadto, że przyczyną zaburzeń kariery edukacyjnej meksykańskich dzieci jest nie tyle migracja rodziców, ile podążanie za nimi starszego rodzeństwa. Starsi bracia i siostry wywierają silniejszy wpływ na modelowanie zachowań młodych Meksykanów niż reprezentujący inne pokolenie rodzice.…”