Trade and Migration: NAFTA and Agriculture (Policy Analyses in International Economics) - Softcover

Will the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) increase or decrease Mexican migration to the United States? Professor Philip Martin, a leading expert on migration, concludes that NAFTA will both increase and decrease pressures for Mexican migration. This study provides a balanced and careful assessment of the controversial, but surprisingly neglected, issue of NAFTA's impact on immigration and offers policy recommendations on how President Clinton should respond.
Although the author estimates that NAFTA will increase migration by as many as 100,000 people annually in the short to medium term, the more significant pressures to emigrate from Mexico in the 1990s will continue to come from non-NAFTA sources such as Mexican land reforms, deregulation, and privatization. Martin argues that NAFTA is necessary to prevent even greater migration over the longer term because the agreement will stimulate economic growth and job creation within Mexico, thus reducing long-run emigration pressure.
The author recommends that the United States reduce the existing demand-pull of US job opportunities for migrants through vigorous enforcement of labor and immigration laws and provide financial assistance to state and local governments affected by increased immigration.

Philip L. Martin, Visiting Fellow, is Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of California at Davis and a member of the Commission on Agricultural Workers established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.