Who migrates and where? Insights into global migrant selectivity through South American migration
International migrants, especially those migrating for economic reasons, typically differ from non-migrant co-nationals in both observed (e.g., education) and unobserved characteristics (e.g., motivation). However, knowledge about such migrant selectivity, particularly from the Global South, remains...
| Authors: | , |
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| Format: | article |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia |
| Repository: | e-spacio. Repositorio Institucional de la UNED |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:e-spacio.uned.es:20.500.14468/31843 |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/31843 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | 63 Sociología migrant selection education South America South-South migration South-North migration selección migratoria educación migración Sur-Sur migración Sur-Norte América del Sur |
| Summary: | International migrants, especially those migrating for economic reasons, typically differ from non-migrant co-nationals in both observed (e.g., education) and unobserved characteristics (e.g., motivation). However, knowledge about such migrant selectivity, particularly from the Global South, remains limited. South America is a key region for studying this issue, as half of South American migrants live in another South American country, while the other half reside in Europe or the US. Using harmonized census data from IPUMS, we explore how migrant educational selectivity varies by origin and destination, and how it evolves over three decades (1990s–2010s). We show that South American migrants are selected in general but are more selected when moving to more distant or challenging locations, such as the US. At the same time, intraregional moves can also be highly selective, and at times resemble those directed toward Europe (where selectivity remains lower than to the US). |
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