Migration and Contraception among Mexican Women: Assessing Selection,Disruption, and Adaptation

Population Research and Policy Review - Despite the sizeable impact of migration on childbearing, less is known about how it shapes contraceptive use undergirding fertility. We utilize binational...     

Simulating the Effects of Acculturation and Return Migration on the Maternal and Infant Health of Mexican Immigrants in the United States: A Research Note

A significant body of research on minority health shows that although Latino immigrants experience unexpectedly favorable outcomes in maternal and infant health, this advantage deteriorates with increased time of residence in the United States. This study evaluates the underlying assumptions of two competing hypotheses that explain this paradox. The first hypothesis attributes this deterioration to possible negative effects of acculturation and behavioral adjustments made by immigrants while living in the United States, and the second hypothesis attributes this deterioration to the mechanism of selective return migration. Hypothetical probabilistic models are simulated for assessing the relationship between duration and birth outcomes based on the assumptions of these two hypotheses. The results are compared with the empirical research on the maternal and infant health of first-generation, Mexican-origin immigrant women in the United States. The analysis provides evidence that a curvilinear pattern of duration and birth outcomes can be explained by the joint effects of both acculturation and selective return migration in which the former affects health status over the longer durations, and the latter affects health status at shorter durations.     

城乡劳动力流动与迁移回报率

本文从微观主体人力资本投资的角度来理解中国农村劳动力流动现象。提出应该将迁移作为一种投资方式单独进行考察。通过讨论迁移的预期成本和收益,发现与教育投资相比,迁移能得到较高的回报率,迁移回报率是吸引农村劳动力选择迁移流动到城市的重要因素。由此得出结论：农村劳动力向城市的迁移是一种理性选择的人力资本投资方式。要改变中国二十年来农村劳动力以低教育水平、低收入水平为特征的循环流动。必须尽快改善农村的人力资本投资环境。特别是教育环境．     

The Health Benefits of College Education in Urban China: Selection Bias and Heterogeneity

China has undergone a rapid expansion in higher education since the late 1990s. Drawing on a recently collected nationwide representative data, the current study makes contributions to the understanding of the health benefits of college education in urban China. Using propensity score matching to deal with potential selection bias, the results of the current research suggest that higher education attainment can significantly promote people’s self-rated health status, with the control for a series of demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Moreover, this research also highlights the heterogonous treatment effects: those who are more likely to attend college benefit less from the health returns to higher education than those who are less likely to go to college, lending support to a negative heterogeneous treatment effect pattern. Finally, we also examine the cohort difference in the heterogeneous treatment effect and it turns out that the negative pattern mainly takes place among the cohorts born after 1981, the generations who experienced the expansion of higher education.     

Health Selection,Migration, and HIV Infection in Malawi

Despite its importance in studies of migrant health, selectivity of migrants—also known as migration health selection—has seldom been examined in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This neglect is problematic because several features of the context in which migration occurs in SSA—very high levels of HIV, in particular—differ from contextual features in regions that have been studied more thoroughly. To address this important gap, we use longitudinal panel data from Malawi to examine whether migrants differ from nonmigrants in pre-migration health, assessed via SF-12 measures of mental and physical health. In addition to overall health selection, we focus on three more-specific factors that may affect the relationship between migration and health: (1) whether migration health selection differs by destination (rural-rural, rural-town, and rural-urban), (2) whether HIV infection moderates the relationship between migration and health, and (3) whether circular migrants differ in pre-migration health status. We find evidence of the healthy migrant phenomenon in Malawi, where physically healthier individuals are more likely to move. This relationship varies by migration destination, with healthier rural migrants moving to urban and other rural areas. We also find interactions between HIV-infected status and health: HIV-infected women moving to cities are physically healthier than their nonmigrant counterparts.     

Migration Selection, Protection, and Acculturation in Health: A Binational Perspective on Older Adults

In this article, we test for four potential explanations of the Hispanic Health Paradox (HHP): the “salmon bias,” emigration selection, and sociocultural protection originating in either destination or sending country. To reduce biases related to attrition by return migration typical of most U.S.-based surveys, we combine data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study in Mexico and the U.S. National Health Interview Survey to compare self-reported diabetes, hypertension, current smoking, obesity, and self-rated health among Mexican-born men ages 50 and older according to their previous U.S. migration experience, and U.S.-born Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites. We also use height, a measure of health during childhood, to bolster some of our tests. We find an immigrant advantage relative to non-Hispanic whites in hypertension and, to a lesser extent, obesity. We find evidence consistent with emigration selection and the salmon bias in height, hypertension, and self-rated health among immigrants with less than 15 years of experience in the United States; we do not find conclusive evidence consistent with sociocultural protection mechanisms. Finally, we illustrate that although ignoring return migrants when testing for the HHP and its mechanisms, as well as for the association between U.S. experience and health, exaggerates these associations, they are not fully driven by return migration-related attrition.     

农村外出劳动力回流迁移的影响因素和回流效应

文章分析农村外出劳动力回流迁移的影响因素.农村外出劳动力在城市就业、经济收入和社会保障的排斥影响他们的回流,同时回流迁移也受到家庭生活、家庭劳动力状况、家庭农业活动和农地状况等因素的影响.外出劳动力的回流迁移是“被动回流”和“主动回流”相结合的过程、是个体决策和家庭决策的综合过程.文章提出劳动力回流迁移具有“回流效应”,回流带来人力资本的补偿、促进流出地非农经济的发展和带来创业的增长.劳动力回流作为城镇化过程中内生的逆迁移流,构成乡城迁移和劳动力市场平衡的补充机制,与乡城迁移一起促进城镇化和城乡平衡发展.文章提出在城镇化过程中需要支持“迁移效应”和“回流效应”机制共同发挥作用.     

中国农村地区的家庭禀赋与外出务工劳动力回流

中国农村地区家庭禀赋对个人的行为决策有着重要的影响,需要学术界予以更多的关注。为了考察外生性的家庭禀赋对劳动力就业流动的影响,文章通过构建新生代外出务工劳动力和户主子女的回流决策两个计量模型来进行经验论证。分析结果表明,农村劳动力的迁移选择是综合考虑家庭禀赋状况的理性决策,尤其是对于年轻一代的外出劳动力。家庭经济资本的增加会阻碍家庭外出务工成员的回流。外出劳动力回流的概率起初随着家庭人力资本和家庭自然资本的增长而上升,达到一定程度后开始下降。家庭成员只有拥有较为丰富的人力资本,外出务工劳动力才能对家庭社会资本加以充分利用。另外,分析显示年轻一代劳动力和第一代劳动力对家庭社会资本和自然资本的利用是有差异的。     

往复式流动还是永久性回流：农村女性就业流动性差异及决定因素研究

通过在湖北省调查的2883个农村女性劳动力样本,首先描述分析了选择往复式流动和永久性回流的农村女性的人口学特征差异,然后利用Logistic方法实证分析了人力资本变量、社会资本变量和家庭禀赋变量对农村女性做出往复式流动和永久性回流决策的影响。研究发现,往复式流动决策的做出主要受女性自身人力资本变量的影响,而永久性回流决策受三类变量的共同影响。女性年龄对于往复式流动有正向作用,对永久性回流起反向作用,受教育年限对往复式流动起反向作用。对永久性回流的作用则相反。     

The Consequences of Migration to the United States for Short-Term Changes in the Health of Mexican Immigrants

Although many studies have attempted to examine the consequences of Mexico-U.S. migration for Mexican immigrants’ health, few have had adequate data to generate the appropriate comparisons. In this article, we use data from two waves of the Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS) to compare the health of current migrants from Mexico with those of earlier migrants and nonmigrants. Because the longitudinal data permit us to examine short-term changes in health status subsequent to the baseline survey for current migrants and for Mexican residents, as well as to control for the potential health selectivity of migrants, the results provide a clearer picture of the consequences of immigration for Mexican migrant health than have previous studies. Our findings demonstrate that current migrants are more likely to experience recent changes in health status—both improvements and declines—than either earlier migrants or nonmigrants. The net effect, however, is a decline in health for current migrants: compared with never migrants, the health of current migrants is much more likely to have declined in the year or two since migration and not significantly more likely to have improved. Thus, it appears that the migration process itself and/or the experiences of the immediate post-migration period detrimentally affect Mexican immigrants’ health.     

An Integrated Analysis of Migration and Remittances: Modeling Migration as a Mechanism for Selection

Prior work has modeled individuals?? migration and remittance behavior separately, and reported mixed empirical support for various remittance motivations. This study offers an integrated approach, and considers migration as a mechanism for selection in a censored probit model of remittance behavior. This approach leads to different conclusions about the determinants of remittance behavior in the Thai internal migration setting. To the extent that these determinants capture different remittance motivations, as prior research has presumed, the analysis also provides varying support for these motivations. These results suggest that migration and remittance behavior are interrelated, and it is crucial for an analysis of remittance behavior to control for the selectivity of migration.     

跨文化流动与健康——基于CLDS数据的实证研究

一个人的流动经历与其健康状况密切相关,这种关系不仅与迁移的地理距离有关,也与迁出地和迁入地的文化差异有关。跨文化迁移一般是通过心理压力、生活方式、收入水平和社会网络等途径对移民健康产生影响。本文选取方言、饮食和观念距离作为文化距离的代理变量,使用2014年CLDS数据分析跨文化迁移对乡城流动人口健康状况的影响及其影响机制。描述性统计分析表明乡城流动人口对于流动的文化距离具有选择性,他们大多在同一方言区和饮食圈内部进行流动,流入地和流出地的观念距离也较近。基于Probit回归结果发现方言和观念距离对乡城流动人口健康状况有显著负面影响,收入水平和社会网络在其中起着中介作用,但饮食距离对乡城流动人口健康状况的影响不显著。本文为克服可能存在的内生性问题构建了PSM模型,同时使用地形距离这一客观变量作为工具变量,这两种方法得到的结果与上述结论基本一致。使用"诊断需住院"和"身体疼痛"两个客观指标进行稳健性检验后,基本结论依然成立,具有稳健性。此外,方言和观念距离对乡城流动人口健康状况的影响存在异质性,流动持续年份、性别、流动次数、本地方言技能是导致该异质性的重要因素。     

中国的返迁人口:基于五普数据的分析

本文利用我国2000年第五次人口普查的数据,估计返迁人口的规模并描述返迁人口的人口社会特征及其与现在的迁移人口与非迁移常住人口的差异,从个人因素、居住地类型以及家庭户特征三个方面分别讨论了返迁的决定因素。并讨论了本文的一些缺陷及今后的研究方向。     

The Impact of Salmon Bias on the Hispanic Mortality Advantage: New Evidence from Social Security Data

A great deal of research has focused on factors that may contribute to the Hispanic mortality paradox in the United States. In this paper, we examine the role of the salmon bias hypothesis—the selective return of less-healthy Hispanics to their country of birth—on mortality at ages 65 and above. These analyses are based on data drawn from the Master Beneficiary Record and NUMIDENT data files of the Social Security Administration. These data provide the first direct evidence regarding the effect of salmon bias on the Hispanic mortality advantage. Although we confirm the existence of salmon bias, it is of too small a magnitude to be a primary explanation for the lower mortality of Hispanic than non-hispanic (NH)-White primary social security beneficiaries. Longitudinal surveys that follow individuals in and out of the United States are needed to further explore the role of migration in the health and mortality of foreign-born US residents and factors that contribute to the Hispanic mortality paradox.     

Internal Migration and Mental Health: An Examination of the Healthy Migration Phenomenon in China

Population Research and Policy Review - Using the 2008 and 2009 Rural–Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) survey data, two waves of a nationally representative survey dataset, this study...     

Microcredit and Domestic Violence in Bangladesh: An Exploration of Selection Bias Influences

This article explores the relationship between women’s participation in microcredit groups and domestic violence in Bangladesh. Several recent studies have raised concern about microcredit programs by reporting higher levels of violence among women who are members. These results, however, may be attributable to selection bias because members might differ from nonmembers in ways that make them more susceptible to violence to begin with. Using a sample of currently married women from the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS) (N = 4,195), we use propensity score matching (PSM) as a way of exploring selection bias in this relationship. Results suggest that the previously seen strong positive association between membership and violence does not hold when an appropriate comparison group, generated using PSM, is used in the analyses. Additional analyses also suggest that levels of violence do not differ significantly between members and nonmembers and instead could depend on context-specific factors related to poverty. Members for whom a match is not found report considerably higher levels of violence relative to nonmembers in the unmatched group. The background characteristics of members and nonmembers who do not match suggest that they are more likely to be younger and from relatively well-to-do households.     

流动人口在流动过程中的暂时性回流及其影响因素——基于生命历程的视角

流动人口的暂时性回流是其流动过程中的重要一环,但在迄今的相关研究中长期遭到忽视.本文基于2015年国家卫生计生委流动人口动态监测数据以及对福建省有代表性的流动人口流动经历和过程问卷调查数据,在生命历程理论的视角下揭示了流动人口暂时性回流的特征,并运用二元logistic回归模型对其影响因素进行分析.结果表明:(1)近三成流动人口在流动过程中有过暂时性回流行为,且结婚、 生养孩子等人生阶段性目标为其回流的主要原因;(2)半数以上流动人口的暂时性回流行为发生在首次城市流动和首次职业流动之后;(3)婚姻、 生育、 就业变动等生命历程中的重大事件对流动人口的暂时性回流行为产生显著影响.从性别差异上看,女性流动人口的暂时性回流整体上受到上述因素的影响程度高于男性.女性更容易受到婚姻、 家庭子女数量等因素的影响,生命历程对女性的暂时性回流行为更具解释力.最后,提出了相关政策启示.     

New Estimates of Undocumented Mexican Migration and the Probability of Apprehension*

Using a new source of data, we estimate the probability of apprehension among Mexican migrants attempting to cross into the United States without documents. Over the period 1965-1989 we found an average apprehension probability of .35, confirming earlier estimates. We then applied annual probabilities to estimate the gross volume of undocumented Mexican migration and adjusted these figures to derive estimates of the net undocumented inflow.     

Impact of Relaxing the Hukou Constraints on Return Migration Intentions: Evidence from China

Population Research and Policy Review - How does the change of migration policy or institutional context in receiving places influence return migration? This paper examined the impact of relaxing...