RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Guest Worker Programs and Human Capital Investment: The Bracero Program in Mexico, 1942-1964
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 0616-8015R2
DO 10.3368/jhr.56.2.0616-8015R2
A1 Edward Kosack
YR 2020
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2020/02/03/jhr.56.2.0616-8015R2.abstract
AB Guest worker programs are often criticized for worker maltreatment. Income earned could, however, benefit migrants. I examine the impact of the Bracero Program, a guest worker program between Mexico and the U.S. in the mid-twentieth century, on human capital investments. I use proximity to recruitment centers as an instrument for migration. The opening and closing of centers, due to changes in international bargaining power, provides exogenous variation. Estimates show that bracero migration caused increases in primary school enrollments, the provision of primary schools, and spending on education by state governments.