Objective: To examine the old-age consequences of international migration with a focus on disability and wealth from the perspective of the origin country. Method: Analysis sample includes persons aged 60+ from the Mexican Health and Aging Study, a national survey of older adults in Mexico in 2001. Univariate methods are used to present a comparative profile of return migrants. Multivariate models are estimated for physical disability and wealth. Results: Gender differences are profound. Return migrant women are more likely to be disabled while men are wealthier than comparable older adults in Mexico. Discussion: Compared to current older adults, younger cohorts of Mexico—U.S. migrants increasingly include women, and more migrants seem likely to remain in the United States rather than return, thus more research will be needed on the old-age conditions of migrants of both countries.
Al Snih, S., Ottenbacher, K.J., Markides, K.S., Kuo, Y.F., Eschbach, K., & Goodwin, J.S. ( 2007). The effect of obesity on disability vs. mortality in older Americans. Archives of Internal Medicine, 167, 774-780.
2.
Borjas, G.J., & Bratsberg, B. ( 1994). Who Leaves? The Outmigration of the Foreign-Born. Working Paper 4913, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
3.
Borjas, G. J. (Ed.). (2007). Mexican immigration to the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
4.
Canales-Ceron, A.I. ( 2001). Factores demográficos del asentamiento y la circularidad en la migración México-Estados Unidos [Demographic factors and the circularity of the settlement in the Mexico-US migration] (No. 72). Celade, Chile: Notas de Población.
5.
Cerrutti, M., & Massey, D.S. ( 2001). On the auspices of female migration from Mexico to the United States. Demography, 38, 187-200.
6.
Chiquiar, D., & Gordon, G.H. ( 2005). International migration, self-selection, and the distribution of wages: Evidence from Mexico and the United States. Journal of Political Economy, 113, 239-281.
7.
Constant, A., & Massey, D.S. ( 2003). Self-selection, earnings and out-migration: A longitudinal study of immigrants. Journal of Population Economics, 16, 631-653.
8.
Crimmins, E.M., Soldo, B.J., Kim, J.K., & Alley, D.E. ( 2005). Using anthropometric indicators for Mexicans in the United States and Mexico to understand the selection of migrants and the "Hispanic Paradox. " Social Biology, 52, 64-177.
9.
DeCoulon, A., & Piracha, M. ( 2005). Self-selection and the performance of return migrants: The source country perspective. Journal of Population Economics , 18, 779-807.
10.
Durand, J. ( 2004). Ensayo teórico sobre la migración de retorno: El principio del rendimiento decreciente [Theoretical essay on return migration: The principle of diminishing returns]. Cuadernos Geograficos , 35, 103-116.
11.
Freedman, V.A., Schoeni, R.F., Martin, L.G., & Cornman, J.C. ( 2007). Chronic conditions and the decline in late-life disability . Demography, 44, 459-477.
12.
Fried, L., & Guralnik, J. ( 1997). Disability in older adults: Evidence regarding significance, etiology, and risk. Journal of the American Geriatric Society , 45, 92-100.
13.
Hill, K., & Wong, R. ( 2005). Mexico-U.S. Migration: Views from both sides of the border . Population and Development Review, 31(1), 1-18.
14.
Ibarraran, P., & Lubotsky, D. ( 2005). Mexican immigration and self-selection: New evidence from the 2000 Mexican census. Working Paper11456. National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
15.
Jette, A.M. ( 1996). Disability trends and transitions. In R. H. Binstock & L. K. George.Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences (pp. 94-116). New York: Academic Press.
16.
Knaul, F.M., Arreola-Ornelas, H., Mendez-Carniado, O., & Torres, A.C. ( 2007). Household catastrophic health impoverishing and spending among families with older adults in Mexico: A reform health priority. In J. A. Angel & K. E. Whitfield (Eds.), The health of aging Hispanics: The Mexican-origin population (chap. 18). Springer, New York.
17.
Knaul, F.M., & Frenk, J. ( 2005). Health insurance in Mexico: Achieving universal coverage through structural reform. Health Affairs, 24, 1467-1476.
18.
Leite, P., Ramos, L.F., & Gaspar, S. ( 2003). Tendencias recientes de la migración México-Estados Unidos [Recent trends in Mexico-US migration]. In La situación demográfica de México 2003 (pp. 97-115). México : CONAPO.
19.
Lindstrom, D.P. ( 1996). Economic opportunity in Mexico and return migration from the United States. Demography, 33, 357-374.
20.
Markides, K., Eschbach, K., Ray, L., & Peek, M. ( 2007). Census disability rates among older people by race/ethnicity and type of Hispanic origin. In J. A. Angel & K. E. Whitfield (Eds.), The health of aging Hispanics: The Mexican-origin population (pp. 26-39). Springer , New York.
21.
Massey, D.S. ( 1987). Understanding Mexican migration to the United States . The American Journal of Sociology, 92, 1372-1403.
22.
Massey, D.S., & Durand, J. ( 2004). Crossing the Border: Research from the Mexican Migration Project. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
23.
Otiniano, M.E., Du, X.L., Ottenbacher, K., Markides, K.S. ( 2003). The effect of diabetes combined with stroke on disability, self-rated health, and mortality in older Mexican Americans: Results from the Hispanic EPESE. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , 84, 725-730.
24.
Reagan, P., & Olsen, R.J. ( 2000). You can go home again: Evidence from longitudinal data . Demography, 37, 339-350.
25.
Riosmena, F. ( 2004). Return versus settlement Among undocumented Mexican Migrants, 1980 to 1996. In J. Durand & D. S. Massey (Eds.), Crossing the border: Research from the Mexican Migration Project, (pp. 265-280). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
26.
Rubalcava, L., Teruel, G., Thomas, D., & Goldman, N. ( 2008). The healthy migrant effect: New findings from the Mexican Family Life Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 78-84.
27.
Ruiz-Tagle, J.C., & Wong, R. ( 2009). Determinants of return migration to Mexico among Mexicans in the United States. Paper presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Detroit, MI.
28.
Wong, R., & Palloni, A. ( 2009). Aging in Mexico and Latin America. In P. Uhlenberg (Ed.), International handbook of population aging (chap. 11) New York: Springer.
29.
Wong, R., Palloni, A., & Soldo, B.J. ( 2007). Wealth in middle and old age in Mexico: The role of previous U.S. migration. International Migration Review, 41, 127-151.
