Migration systems in comparative perspective: Mexico-USA and Subsaharan Africa-Europe (MIGRASYS)
Migration systems in comparative perspective: Mexico-USA and Subsaharan Africa-Europe (MIGRASYS)
Migration systems in comparative perspective: Mexico-USA and Subsaharan Africa-Europe (MIGRASYS)
Although earlier research on the causes and consequences of migration has been derived from the North American migration system, new sources of information allow us to assess the validity of these conclusions for the European context. By offering, for the first time, the possibility of comparison, the proposed project offers a unique opportunity to simultaneously assess two of the largest migration destinations (EU and USA). The analysis will follow three stages. The first is a required assessment of three current surveys of migrants, which have never been compared before, despite clear methodological overlap. These data cover the context of origin in a number of African countries (MAFE) and Mexico (MMP and MxFLS) and the context of destination in the US and six European countries. This stage will involve an assessment of the comparability of measures and the construction of standardized datasets for subsequent analysis. The second stage considers the selection of immigrants to the U.S. and Europe, which is a comparative assessment of the determinants of migration, rooted in human capital (e.g. education) and social capital (e.g. social networks) in the Africa-EU and Mexico-US systems. In our research we consider the role of key institutions and policies of the welfare regime existing in each country, such as the labor market and migration policies, in determining migrants' characteristics and trajectories. The third stage, builds upon the previous stage by assessing the secondary consequences of migration for the context of origin and destination (i.e. household structure, marriage and fertility, living standards). Although research has focused on the role of expectations in determining migration, little work has considered what happens to families subsequent to migration, which is crucial for understanding subsequent migration decisions. The meaning of migration for those left behind has profound implications for the perpetuation of migration flows.
Principal researchers
Pau BaizánResearchers
Bruno ArpinaIgnacio Carrasco (Uppsala University)
Mathew J. Creighton
Antonina Levatino
Mao-Mei Liu
Natalia Malancu
Fernando Riosmena (University of Colorado)
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CSO2012-37920).