American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Fenced Out: The Impact of Border Construction on US-Mexico Migration
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 12,
no. 3, July 2020
(pp. 106–39)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
This paper estimates the impact of the US-Mexico border fence on US-Mexico migration by exploiting variation in the timing and location of US government investment in fence construction. Using Mexican survey data and data I collected on fence construction, I find that construction in a municipality reduces migration by 27 percent for municipality residents and 15 percent for residents of adjacent municipalities. In addition, construction reduces migration by up to 35 percent from non-border municipalities. I also find that construction induces migrants to substitute toward alternative crossing locations, disproportionately deters low-skilled migrants, and reduces the number of undocumented Mexicans in the United States.Citation
Feigenberg, Benjamin. 2020. "Fenced Out: The Impact of Border Construction on US-Mexico Migration." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 12 (3): 106–39. DOI: 10.1257/app.20170231Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J61 Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
- K37 Immigration Law
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration