Abstract

DOMINGUEZ VILLALOBOS, Lilia  and  VAZQUEZ MAGGIO, Mónica Laura. Reasons for Migrating: Mexico’s Middle-Class Professionals in the United States. Norteamérica [online]. 2019, vol.14, n.1, pp.259-282.  Epub June 30, 2020. ISSN 2448-7228.  https://doi.org/10.22201/cisan.24487228e.2019.1.364.

This article analyzes what motivates Mexican professionals to migrate to the United States, based on a survey of 813 migrants in the framework of the analysis of middle-class behavior. The authors analyze the factors behind the three most often mentioned motivations: looking for a better job, getting international experience, and the hope of a better quality of life. The results of the logistical models used show that, underlying these motivations, the neoclassical explanation consistent with homo economicus is insufficient: social and personal factors must also be taken into account. Therefore, the quest for a better quality of life is linked to the essential component of being near one’s family; and behind the desire to obtain international experience is a mixture of considerations like limited job opportunities and the lack of infrastructure for being able to perform one’s job.

Keywords : highly skilled migration; brain drain; middle classes; motivations for migrating; Mexicans in the United States.

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