Wage-Labor Migration and the Household in a Mexican Town

Abstract

This study of wage-labor migration and its relation to household composition and economics is based on a sample of 70 households in a central Mexican town. Specific types of migration are linked to job locations within Mexico or the United States and to the amount and reliability of remittances. The latter two factors are critical in determining the impact of labor migration on the household. New facets of the association of female household headship and out-migration are presented. A predictive model in the form of a flow diagram illustrates the interrelationships of variables.