An Intergenerational Migration Experience: Social Mobility Among Return Migrants and their Families in Mexico

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  • March 20, 2019
Creator
  • Viera, Janelle
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Sociology
Abstract
  • This study examines intergenerational social mobility pathways within families of mixed migratory status. Focusing on the residents of Leon, Mexico, I use a mixed methods analysis of interviews and survey data on 50 return migrants to Leon to identify signs of intergenerational social mobility within their families. The study finds that parental return migration plays a role in determining a family’s potential for upward mobility. Findings show that migrants’ labor market experiences, both abroad and upon return to the origin country, influence their likelihood of intergenerational social mobility. Labor market experiences prove especially influential over these families’ mobility pathways, with these experiences directly affecting the occupational and educational opportunities of the return migrants and their children, respectively. The study ultimately demonstrates international migration’s potential to disrupt social class reproduction and highlights the implications of migration on the future economic success of migrant families with low levels of traditional human capital.
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  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Hagan, Jacqueline
  • Mouw, Ted
  • Pearce, Lisa D.
Degree
  • Master of Arts
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School
Graduation year
  • 2017
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