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Title: Collective Remittances and the 3x1 Program in Mexico: Local Labor Market Effects

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2013

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Abstract: Collective remittances are those sent by migrants' associations and used for investment in social and productive projects in their hometowns. A unique program in Mexico, 3x1 Para Migrantes, aims to multiply the benefits of this kind of social capital: government funds are matched with collective remittances and invested in community projects. I propose a potential effect of the program: the amenities and job opportunities generated by these projects can alter local labor markets, making people more likely to stay and work in the municipality instead of migrating. Using panel data from the evaluation of this program and from the Mexican Family Life Survey, I study the effect of collective remittances on the probability of wanting to migrate, being employed and in the labor force, and on the amount of hours worked of men and women in 2002 and 2005 in Mexico. Results from these estimations show that, in general, collective remittances, measured as the per capita investment through the 3x1 Program, have a positive, albeit modest, impact on the employment and labor force participation of men and women in Mexican municipalities that participate in the program, but no effect on the preferences to migrate, at least in the short run. Collective remittances, however, may have ambiguous effects depending on the type of projects executed.

Url: https://www.sole-jole.org/14227.pdf

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Authors: Córdova, Karina

Publisher: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, UCSD

Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure

Countries: Mexico