Poverty, migration and access to social programs in Mexico

The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between international migration and access to social programs in the context of poor households in Mexico. Are there any differences in the access to social programs between households with migrants and households without migrants? This is a relevant question in lieu of a changing pattern in international migration in Mexico, where the bibliography has shown that poor households have started to have members that migrate to the US. We use a cross-section household survey of the most impoverished municipalities in Mexico (2011) to characterize households with international migration experiences and their differences in access to conditional transfer programs: Oportunidades, Setenta y más, and Seguro Popular. With this survey, it will be possible to estimate the wellbeing of households, their access to the most important social programs in Mexico, and socio-demographic of households that will be validated with census information. Impact evaluation of these social programs have presented mixed results in finding an increasing probability of migration due to access to social programs. Thus, the main contribution of work will be to provide evidence about the processes with which the links between poverty, migration, and access to social programs occur.