Migration from Central America and Mexico to the United States: How Does the Movement of People Affect the Labor Market of the Sending Countries?

This article studies the dynamic effect of outmigration on the labor markets of the sending countries at two moments: when migrants leave their country of origin, and when they establish themselves in the new host country. Additionally, this research analyzes the effect on the labor market caused by low skilled and high skilled workers. This work is based on the New Economics of Labor Migration theory and uses Central America and Mexico as the sample. The data are analyzed through Feasible Generalized Least Squares and Panel Corrected Standard Errors. The results show that total migrant outflows and high skilled workers affects positively the employment in the sending countries. No statistically significant effect was found on wages. Finally, outmigration significantly affects national income, and a statistically significant positive effect was found when migrants arrive to the United States and begin to influence the sending countries as diasporas.