International Migration and Business Formation in Mexico.

The article investigates the process of business formation among international immigrants in Mexico. Prior studies yield the pessimistic conclusion that international migration does not promote entrepreneurial activity and business formation. Through a careful quantitative analysis, the authors seek to show that international migration plays a more positive role in promoting economic development than is generally thought. In this article the authors analyze the process of business formation among international migrants from Mexico. Unlike other researchers, we place entrepreneurial decisions within the context of shifting personal, family, community, and national circumstances. Using retrospective data, the authors follow subjects as they flurry, have children, acquire property, move inter- nationally and repatriate funds. Data come from simple random samples gathered during the winter months of 1982-1983 and 1987-1992 in thirty communities located in the states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nayarit and Zacatecas in Mexico.