The Effects of Migrant Hometown Development on Local Democracy in Mexico

• In Event: 549 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 04. Transnationalism

Abstract

How does international migration shape local democracy in migrant countries of origin? As organized migrant groups like hometown associations (HTAs) continue to invest in community development projects with remittance dollars back home, to what extent does their transnational engagement affect democratic governance? To date, the extant transnational migration literature has yet to reach consensus. This paper examines the political effects of remittance-led development on local democracy with panel data across all Mexican municipalities from 1990-2013. Using the difference-in-difference (DiD) estimator, we assess whether public-private partnerships between HTAs and public agencies in the sending state, operationalized by municipal participation in the Mexican 3x1 Matching Grants Program, impact dimensions of local democratic quality including electoral competition and political participation. Statistical findings reveal that municipal participants that engage in the coproduction of public goods with HTAs and the Mexican sending state through the 3x1 Program, experience more competitive elections and an increase in voter turnout than places that never participate while controlling for potential confounders and mitigating selection bias. Additional analysis using the Mexican Family Life Survey directly tests hypothesized causal mechanisms and shows that positive effects on electoral competition and turnout are conditional on the inclusion of local civil society in remittance mobilized community development projects.

Authors

• Lauren Duquette-Rury, UCLA

• Zhenxiang Chen, UCLA