Land property rights and international migration: Evidence from Mexico

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Valsecchi, Michele
• 署名单位: University of Gothenburg
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2014.01.010
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 276-290
• 关键词: Property rights; Land titling; Land reform; Land inheritance; international migration

摘要

In this paper, I ask whether there is a relationship between land property rights and international migration. In order to identify the impact of property rights, I consider a country-wide land certification program that took place in Mexico in the 1990s. My identification strategy exploits the staggered implementation and the households' eligibility for the program. I find that the program increased the eligible households' likelihood of having one or more members abroad by 12%. In terms of the number of migrants, my coefficient estimates explain 26% of the 1994-1997 increase in migrants from ejido areas and 13-15% of the increase from all of Mexico. Consistent with our theoretical model, the impact is strongest for households without a land will. This implies that land inheritance issues drive at least part of the effect. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.