Harley L. Browning

Selectivity Of Migrants To A Metropolis In A Developing Country: A Mexican Case Study

A proper evaluation of native-migrant differences requires information on migrant selectivity. Are migrants positively or negatively selective or are they representative of the populations from which they originate? This question was posed for a sample of male migrants to Monterrey, Mexico, a rapidly growing metropolis in a developing country. A comparison was made between the characteristics of migrants and census information for the origin populations for 1940 and 1960. Overall, in terms of education and occupational position, migrants are positively selective. However, using three time-of-arrival cohorts, it is shown that migrants have become less selective over time. There has been a shift from a “pioneer” to a “mass” pattern of migration, with the latter group more closely approximating the characteristics of the origin population. Besides having lower educational and skill levels, the “mass” migrants are more likely to be made up of married men and their families. To the extent that the Monterrey pattern will be encountered in other large and fast-growing urban areas in Latin America, it suggests that the assimilation of migrants in these places will become more rather than less difficult.

The sociodemographic characteristics of Mexican immigrant status groups: implications for studying undocumented Mexicans.

Based on Warren and Passels (1984) estimate that nearly two-thirds of Mexican-born noncitizens entering the U.S. during 1975–80 and included in the 1980 Census are undocumented immigrants, this article uses the 1980 Public Use Microfiles to delineate four Mexican origin immigrant status groups — post 1975 Mexican-born noncitizens, pre-1975 Mexican-born noncitizens, self-reported naturalized citizens, and native-born Mexican Americans. The pattern of sociodemographic differences among these groups provides support for the idea that the first two categories contain a substantial fraction of undocumented immigrants. These two groups (especially the first) reveal characteristics that one would logically associate with undocumented immigrants — age concentration (in young adult years), high sex ratios, low education and income levels, and lack of English proficiency.

Intraindustry division of labor: The states of Mexico

Measures of occupational differentiation in each of eight industries vary markedly among the states of Mexico, a finding that is construed as evidence of territorial divergence in economic development. The relation among states between the relative size of an industry and the amount of occupational differentiation is direct for some industries but inverse for others. The interpretation is that industry size and intraindustry division of labor are directly related only to the extent that the labor force is concentrated territorially. Findings for the states of Mexico 1950 and 1960 are consistent with the interpretation.

The effect of emigration upon socioeconomic structure: the case of Paraguay

This paper presents an analysis of the Paraguayan emigration to Argentina, by area of emigration, the size of the flow and the structural factors fostering the movement. Finally, the authors elaborate upon the effects of this migration upon the Paraguyan socioeconomic structure.

Patterns of Migration to Monterrey, Mexico'

Monterrey, Mexico is a rapidly growing industrial metropolis, about half of whose growth in the last decades is due to net in-migration. A 1965 survey of 1640 men shows that a majority of migrants originate in rural or small urban places. However, size of place in itself is insufficient to identify differences in areas of origin by socioeconomic level, so a classification of zonas (a socioeconomically homogeneous grouping of municípios) is provided and the different circumstances of out-migration from these different areas are described. There is a low conformity to the stage (step) migration model due to the lack of a fully developed urban hierarchy, the unfavorable opportunity structure of intermediate size places, and the fact that migration takes place within a kinship network that favors direct migration.

The Reproductive Behavior of Minority Groups in the U.S.A.

In any consideration of the reproductive behavior of minority groups, the first question that naturally comes to mind is what do we mean by a minority group. Since women increasingly are identifying themselves as a minority, one could state that all reproduction is by members of a minority group. Rather than being dismissed as facetious, this statement merits serious consideration. It seems to me quite evident that reproduction in this and other countries would be appreciably different if women enjoyed the same status as men, within as well as outside the context of the family. Indeed, as Bumpass (1973) in attempting to account for the recent decline in fertility has stated “…motherhood has been the last major vestige of ascribed status in a modern industrial society. A primary consequence of complete fertility control is to place motherhood more squarely in competition with other social roles.” Norman Ryder (1973) also has repeatedly made much the same point. Although I believe that women can be considered as a minority group within the context of the study of reproductive behavior, such an inclusive definition is not appropriate for this paper.