Social learning along international migrant networks

Tian, Yuan; Caballero, Maria Esther; Kovak, Brian K.

Abstract

We document the transmission of social distancing practices from the United States to Mexico along migrant networks during the early 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Using data on pre-existing migrant connections between Mexican and U.S. locations and mobile-phone tracking data revealing social distancing behavior, we find larger declines in mobility in Mexican regions whose emigrants live in U.S. locations with stronger social distancing practices. We document the absence of confounding pre-trends and use a variety of controls to rule out the potential influence of disease transmission, migrant sorting between similar locations, and remittances. Given this evidence, we conclude that our findings represent the effect of information transmission between Mexican migrants living in the U.S. and residents of their home locations in Mexico. Our results demonstrate the importance of personal connections when policymakers seek to change fundamental social behaviors.

Citation

Tian, Y., Caballero, M. E., & Kovak, B. K. (2022). Social learning along international migrant networks. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 195, 103-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.12.028

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 19, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jan 19, 2022
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Feb 14, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 17, 2023
• Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
• Print ISSN: 0167-2681
• Publisher: Elsevier BV
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 195
• Pages: 103-121
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.12.028
• Keywords: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management; Economics and Econometrics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/17377951
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268121005382?via%3Dihub
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Social learning along international migrant networks; Journal Title: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.12.028; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.