Migrant Self-Selection and Random Shocks: Evidence from the Panic of 1907

Abstract

We study the impact of the 1907 Panic, the most severe economic crisis before the Great Depression, on the selection of Mexican immigration. We find that migrants were positively selected on height before the crisis. This pattern changed to negative selection during the crisis but returned to positive selection afterward. Adjustments in selection were partially mediated by the enganche, a historical labor-recruiting system that reduced migration costs but only for taller laborers with above-average earnings potential. We document that labor recruiting contributed to maintaining the relatively constant height profile of the migration flow in the short run.

backbone of Latin America: recent developments and new directions in anthropometric history

“…The first looks at the assimilation of Mexicans to the US compared to the migration of Italians into the US and ascertain the determinants that explain a better rate of assimilation of Italians vis-à-vis Mexicans (Escamilla-Guerrero et al, 2021). The second one examines the self-selection of Mexican migrants before and after the financial Panic of 1907 and how hiring practices in the US affected the stature of people who migrated to the United States (Escamilla-Guerrero & López-Alonso, 2023). The third study assesses the self-selection of Spaniards who migrated to Mexico after the Spanish Civil War to give a glimpse of the biological standard of living of migrants correlated to their regions of origin, human capital, and socio-economic status and how they did compared to their Mexican counterparts (Sánchez-Alonso & Caballero, 2023).…”

“…This can be immigrants coming into Latin American countries, such as Spaniards, and how their departure implicated a loss in human capital for their home country (Sánchez-Alonso & Santiago-Caballero, 2023). Other studies examine how there could be self-selection patterns of Latin Americans who migrated to other parts of the world (Escamilla-Guerrero & López-Alonso, 2023) or to assess the process of assimilation to their new environment (Escamilla Guerrero et al, 2021). The study of migration patterns and the biosocial effects of those who migrated is also relevant among Bioarchaeologists.…”