The Mixed Effects of Migration: Community-Level Migration and Birthweight in Mexico

• In Event: 393 - Section on Children and Youth Paper Session. Pre and Post-Natal Influences on Children

Abstract

Research on the relationship between migration and infant health in Mexico finds that migration has mixed impacts on the risk of low birthweight. Whereas the departure and absence of household and community members is harmful, remittances are beneficial. We extend this work by considering a different measure of infant health in addition to low birthweight: macrosomia (i.e., heavy birthweight), which is associated with severe infant and maternal morbidities but has a different social risk profile from low birthweight. We link Mexican birth certificates with community data from the Mexican census to analyze the association between various dimensions of community-level migration (i.e., rates of out-migration, receipt of remittances, and return migration) and the risk of low birthweight and macrosomia. We examine this association using two sets of models which differ in the extent to which they account for endogeneity. We find that the health impacts of migration differ depending not only on the dimension of migration, but also on the measure of health, and that they are robust to potential sources of endogeneity. Whereas community remittances and return migration are associated with lower risk of low birthweight, they are associated with increased risk of macrosomia. By contrast, out-migration is associated with increased risk of low birthweight and lower risk of macrosomia. Our analysis of endogeneity suggests that bias resulting from unmeasured differences between communities with different levels of migration results in an underestimate of the impacts of migration on birthweight.

Authors

• Kate Hee Young Choi, University of Western Ontario

• Erin R. Hamilton, University of California-Davis