Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/161085 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10462
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper examines the causal effects of family size and demographic structure on offspring's international migration. We use rich survey data from Mexico to estimate the impact of sibship size, birth order and sibling composition on teenagers' and young adults' migration outcomes. We find no empirical support for the hypothesis that high fertility drives migration. The positive correlation between sibship size and migration disappears when endogeneity of family size is addressed using biological fertility (miscarriages) and infertility shocks. Yet, the chances to migrate are not equally distributed across children within the family. Older siblings, especially firstborn males, are more likely to migrate, while having more sisters than brothers may increase the chances of migration, particularly among girls.
Subjects: 
international migration
Mexico
family size
birth order
sibling rivalry
JEL: 
J13
F22
O15
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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