PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Orozco-Aleman, Sandra
AU  - Gonzalez-Lozano, Heriberto
TI  - Drug Violence and Migration Flows: Lessons from the Mexican Drug War
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.53.3.0215-6948R4
DP  - 2017 Apr 19
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 0215-6948R4
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2017/04/18/jhr.53.3.0215-6948R4.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2017/04/18/jhr.53.3.0215-6948R4.full
AB  - We examine the effect of the increase in violence that Mexico experienced after launching an aggressive campaign against drug-trafficking organizations on immigration into the U.S. We instrument for violence using electoral cycles, and consider two channels through which violence impacts migration: local and transit violence. Violence at the municipality of residence increased migration. Conversely, violence on the route to the U.S. deterred individuals from migrating. Back-of-the-envelope calculations show that between 2007 and 2012, local and transit violence had an overall positive effect on migration. Violence was responsible for a 1.53 percentage point increase in the migration rate.