Economic Well Being in Old Age: The Role of International Migration in Mexico

Rebeca Wong, University of Maryland

This paper focuses on the socioeconomic differentials in old age, examining the impact that international migration in the past could have on the economic well being of individuals in middle and old age. The paper makes a contribution first, because the data represents a first attempt to measure personal wealth in Mexico in a national sample, enabling comparisons between income and wealth differentials in old-age. Second, by focusing on the impact of migration, the paper contributes to the literature on explanations of socioeconomic differentials among older persons. The overarching hypothesis is that among individuals currently residing in Mexico, those with past migratory experience to the U.S. will exhibit higher levels of well being than those who have no such experience. The data comes from the first wave of the new Mexican Health and Aging Study, a nationally representative, prospective panel study of Mexicans aged 50 and over as in 2000.