Genetic Selectivity in Migration: Polygenic Insights into Heterogeneous Outcomes of Domestic Migration in the US

• In Event: Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 17. Heterogeneity

Abstract

Migration studies often grapple with selection bias and unobserved confounders, such as education, socioeconomic status (SES), and health, which complicate the understanding of migration outcomes. This study leverages genetic data to address these challenges, utilizing polygenic scores (PGS) to examine the genetic selectivity of internal migration in the United States and its implications for mobility behaviors. Employing data from AddHealth, the research investigates the genetic profiles of U.S. migrants, focusing on traits such as migration distance, educational attainment, health, and risk-prone behaviors. Specifically, it explores whether long-distance migrants exhibit positive genetic selectivity (e.g., higher PGS for educational attainment and health) while short-distance, frequent movers display negative selectivity (e.g., higher PGS for risk-prone behaviors and lower SES).
The study proceeds in three steps: (1) validating the robustness of migration distance PGS across datasets, (2) comparing genetic profiles across migration groups to assess the direction and magnitude of genetic selectivity, and (3) employing within-family designs to establish causal relationships between genetic traits and migration behaviors. By integrating genetic insights with sociological perspectives, this research aims to reconcile two competing theories of migration outcomes—one emphasizing the advantages of positively selected migrants and the other highlighting the challenges faced by disadvantaged movers.
The findings are expected to provide a nuanced understanding of migration selectivity, demonstrating how genetic endowment shapes diverse migration patterns and outcomes. This study offers innovative methodological contributions and practical implications for addressing disparities among migrant populations in the U.S.

Author

• Yuxin Liu, Princeton University