wilson 2009 cumulative causation unbounded

8112019 Wilson 2009 Cumulative Causation Unbounded

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullwilson-2009-cumulative-causation-unbounded 117

ARTICLE

Cumulative CausationUnbounded NetworkExpansion in Rural andUrban Migration Centers

Tamar Diana Wilson University of Missouri St Louis

ABSTRACT

There is a tendency in the migration literature to see rural communities

that send many migrants to the United States as closed communities The

theory of cumulative causation rests on the assumption of bounded com-

munities and posits a saturation point at which no more migration from

the community occurs The implication that eventually there will be no fur-

ther migration from a given community ignores the existence of networks

that bind people from nearby or even distant communities which can be

tapped by a potential migrant and the phenomenon of internal migration

to dynamic rural centers Migration networks also expand in urban centers

through marriages of a familyrsquos offspring that bring people without estab-

lished ties in the US into intimate contact with people who do have theseties [Keywords Transnational migration cumulative causation network

expansion non-bounded communities family based social capital]

The dynamics of family social and community networks in trans-

national migration between Mexican rural communities and the US

has been explored in great depth in the migration literature for a littlemore than two decades (eg Cornelius 1991 Durand and Massey 1992



Cumulative Causation Unbounded Network Expansion in Rural and Urban Migration Centers

Kearney 1986 1991 Massey 1987 Massey and Espinosa 1997 Massey

and Garciacutea Espantildea 1987 Massey et al 1987 Massey Goldring and

Durand 1994 Mines and Massey 1985 Nuntildeez and Heyman 2007 Portesand Bach 1985 Wilson 1992 1993 1994 1998 2006 and others) It has

been widely argued that transnational migration begins among pioneer-

ing immigrants economically capable of affording the costs of the trip

north and the risks of failure The pioneering migrants are usually young

men but as networks linking origin and destination communities mature

and a settlement process occurs the landless less well off women and

children are also incorporated into the migration stream (eg Durand

and Massey 1992 Massey and Espinosa 1997 Massey Goldring and

Durand 1994) Eventually as Massey and his colleagues show with the

maturation of migration networks migration becomes a relatively low-

cost low-risk strategy for all members of the community (eg Durand

and Massey 1992) Thus the migration process is cumulative as a former

migrant aids new migrants she will in turn extend aid in the migration

process to other members of herhis network

The ldquosaturation point thesisrdquo a corollary to this cumulative causation

thesis predicts that once every member of a given community has network

ties to the US when larger and larger numbers of community members re-

side abroad and when prevalence rates for migration reach approximately

80 percent among males ldquonetworks reach a point of numerical saturationrdquo

and ldquothe process of migration loses its dynamic momentum for growthrdquo

(Massey Goldring and Durand 19941502-1503)

In a more recent work Massey et al (200320 emphasis added) reiter-

ate their ldquosaturationrdquo thesis ldquoIn any bounded populationhellipprocesses ofcumulative causation cannot continue ad infinitum If migration continues

long enough networks eventually reach a point of saturation within any

particular communityrdquo They argue that emigration using networks based

in that community declines as ldquothe stock of new migrants becomes very

small and is increasingly composed of women children and the elderlyrdquo

(200320) For the purpose of analysis they assume that communities

are bounded entities within which the dynamic of cumulative causation

is encapsulatedI would like to propose that a saturation point in rural migrant-sending



TAMAR DIANA WILSON

(ritual kinship) relationships (Wilson 2009a) and in-migration1 from less

economically developed ranchos (unincorporated rural settlements) to

ldquocorerdquo ranchos The difference here lies in the ldquocorerdquo ranchos improvedinfrastructuremdashincluding primary and secondary schools clinics church-

es and electrical and water services negotiated for with the government

which involve a co-paymentmdashprovided by investments on the part of

transnational immigrants Often in-migrants are initially pulled into these

communities because absent migrants offer their ejido2 (small property

lands to sharecrop) or medium and large farmers ( campesinos ) need la-

borers for sowing and harvesting Thus a consideration of migration net-

works at origin must take into account their possible expansion to include

geographically-near population clusters or in-migrating members More

geographically distant population clusters may also send members into

a ldquocorerdquo rancho or pueblo For example agricultural day laborers from

the Alto Balsas region of the state of Guerrero migrate to work in the

fields of the states of Colima Morelos Michoacaacuten Nayarit and Jalisco

(Garciacutea 20074) Those in-migrants from poorer ranchos may or may not

chose to stay at these destinations Those who do stay eventually be-

come members of the transnational migration networks of the more dy-

namic ranchos to which they migrated By partaking in reciprocity net-

works (including immigration networks) in-migrants who were poor in

economic and social capital upon arrival augment and draw upon their

newly acquired network members and the social capital these networks

represent Alternatively marriage and compadrazgo relationships may

be contracted among a web of local communities within a few miles of

each other Such relationships are also established with the offspring ofin-migrant families Compadres may be sought by the in-migrating head

of household and his wife from among the ldquoinsidersrdquo in the destination

community The idea of a saturation point in transnational migration is

derived I believe from the researchersrsquo tendency to conceptualize the

origin community as isolated from other communities and essentially

closed In other words they perceive the origin community as ldquoboundedrdquo

and lacking linkages with other nearby or distant communities




is a colonia (named neighborhood) located in Mexicali Baja California that

I call Colonia Popular Interviews in Los Arboles were conducted for two

months in 1989 with follow-up interviews conversations and participantobservation for two months in 1990 The initial interviews documented mi-

gration and work history the whereabouts of siblings and offspring and the

amount and type of landholdings They were conducted with 203 of 207

heads of household residing on the rancho 26 entire families were living

in the US on a semi-permanent or permanent basis I also interviewed 152

male heads of household and 51 female heads of household including

widows one abandoned woman and de facto heads whose husbands

were currently working in the US Two sociology graduate students from

the Universidad Auacutetonoma de Baja California Mexicali campus came to

the rancho with me in 1989 and helped in retrieving the initial interviews

My census of the population present on the rancho found that 54 percent

of male heads of household had been born elsewhere most (41 percent)

on nearby smaller ranchos Of a total population of 1004 people 47 per-

cent were male and 53 percent were female Missing from the census are

the families who have migrated to the US and who no longer have parents

living in Los Arboles Of the 152 male heads of household 76 percent have

worked in the US at one time or another Most found jobs in Los Angeles

Milwaukee Wisconsin and agricultural towns in California but others have

worked in Indiana Arizona Texas and Michigan As concerns network ex-

tension 605 percent of the male heads of household had one or more sib-

lings living in the US at the time of the interview Of the 51 female heads of

household 28 (549 percent) had brothers and 31 (608 percent) had sisters

living elsewhere in Mexico Of the 152 male heads of household 51 (336percent) had brothers and 52 (342 percent) had sisters living elsewhere

in Mexico Thus social ties transcended the local community and bound

people to siblings within Mexico Most siblings resided on nearby ranchos

or in Guadalajara but some were also found in other Mexican cities (see

Wilson 1992 1998)

Fieldwork in Colonia Popular Mexicali was begun in 1988 and contin-

uedmdashexcept for visits to Los Arbolesmdashuntil 1992 and then again for some

weeks in 1993 1994 and 2002 through 2005 The colonia in 1989 con-sisted of 155 residential lots on which there resided 173 separate nuclear



TAMAR DIANA WILSON

wives were often interviewed in their stead The interviews tracing migra-

tion and work history and the existence of relatives in the US were retrieved

from 102 female heads or co-heads of household and 72 male heads ofhousehold The 1989 census I conducted showed that 836 people were

living in Colonia Popular of whom 48 percent were female and 52 per-

cent male As on the rancho Los Arboles four households declined to

give interviews Residents interviewed in Colonia Popular originated from

21 Mexican states and the Federal District 37 (514 percent) of the male

heads of household had worked for a short time in the US but most had

failed to establish themselves there Of these 30 (417 percent) had rela-

tives in the US at the time of the interview 13 (127 percent) of the women

had worked in the US of which 11 (108 percent) had relatives in the US

(see Wilson 1992 2009c)

Migratory Networks from the Rancho

ldquoLos Arbolesrdquo Jalisco

Los Arboles is located on the highway linking the cities of Guadalajara

Jalisco and Zacatecas Zacatecas It is a dynamic ldquocorerdquo rancho due in

great part to its long history of sending migrants to the US The migration

stream in the area began during the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1917

heightened during conflicts over land in the 1930s and was strengthened

by the involvement of members of the community (established in the 1930s)

in the Bracero Program of 1942 to 1964 Unlike smaller outlying ranchos

Los Arboles has been giftedmdashoften because of migrant remittancesmdashwith

electricity and running water a small clinic a primary school and a telese-cundaria (a secondary school taught through televised educational pro-

grams developed by the national government) It also has a number of

small businesses including in 1990 two grocery and general stores two

school supply stores a clothing store a small restaurant and a taco stand

During the agricultural cycle the larger ejidatarios and private property

owners contracted field hands for sowing the application of pesticides

and the harvesting of cornfields These field hands often came from the

neighboring state of Zacatecas and some over the years have chosen tostay Their permanence was enhanced by the availability of lands to share-




working in the US) who lacked resources to contract farm laborers or who

were themselves absent for long periods in the US

Of the 152 male heads of households resident in Los Arboles in 1989and 1990 83 (546 percent) had been born elsewhere and 69 (454 per-

cent) had been born on the ranchomdasha fact that shows the importance of

in-migration to Los Arbolesrsquo population growth On this index alone this

rancho of transnational migrant origin cannot be considered as a bounded

community The in-migrant population is poorer than those born in Los

Arboles as can be expected whereas 711 percent of those born outside

of the rancho were landless only 435 percent of those born on the rancho

were landless Rates of migration to the US show large differences as well

Whereas 58 of 69 (84 percent) of those born in Los Arboles have crossed

the border to work in the US only 57 of 83 (686 percent) of in-migrating

male heads of household have done so While some of these in-migrating

men were aided in their search for work by expanding transnational migra-

tion networks in their communities of origin (in keeping with the theory of

cumulative causation) most were aided by people they had established

marital friendship or compadrazgo ties with in Los Arboles For example

25 men born elsewhere married Los Arboles-born women Of these men

18 (72 percent) have worked for periods in the US

In keeping with the theory of cumulative causation once migration net-

works mature the less economically well off can be expected to migrate

in greater numbers More in-migrants to Los Arboles are landless than the

Los Arboles born as seen above It is notable that a higher proportion of

the offspring of in-migrants are taking part in the transnational migration

stream Thus while 25 (362 percent) male heads of household born in Los Arboles had offspring living and working in the US 37 (445 percent) of

those born elsewhere had offspring who had crossed the border and were

working in the US

Network dynamics are often similar for internal migration (especially to

cities) and transnational migration (Cohen 2004 Wilson 1993) Thus once

in-migrants establish themselves in a new location othersmdashespecially

family membersmdashmay follow Even if they do not as long as reciprocity re-

lationships are maintained (through for example invitations to take part inwedding baptismal or other festive occasions) others from the in-migrant



TAMAR DIANA WILSON

remains in place but rather than being based on a geographically isolated

bounded community it is based on a cluster of interlinked communities

Notably once an interlinked community is comprised of members whohave migration experiencemdasheven if using an extra-community migration

network to begin withmdashthe entire dynamic of cumulative causation may

begin anew in poorer outlying ranchos A saturation point however does

not occur once a core rancho has extraordinarily high levels of transna-

tional migration because members of nearby (or distant) ranchos are being

pulled into the migration stream and provide nodal points for the migration

of relatives compadres and friends from their ranchos of origin

The findings from the study of migration patterns in Los Arboles lead

to several conclusions First there was a great deal of in-migration into

Los Arboles primarily from outlying ranchos in Jalisco and in neighboring

Zacatecas Second these in-migrants initially immigrated to the US in lesser

proportions than the Los Arboles born Third there was much intermarriage

among those born in Los Arboles and those born elsewhere The networks

of both in-marrying wives and in-marrying husbands were thus meshed with

their insider spousersquos networks Fourth over time in-migrants to the rancho

(even those without marital ties to families native to that rancho) have be-

come increasingly involved in Los Arboles-based migration networks lead-

ing to the US Fifth in-migrants to the rancho have more offspring in the US

than residents of the ranchomdashas a result of both their greater poverty and

their increasing ability to access the social capital embedded in migratory

networks (Wilson 2009a) Finally inter-community linkages lead to a theory

of cumulative causation that must take into account clusters of population

centers not bounded communities For example peasants from the villageof Temalac Guerrero were able to begin migrating to Waukegan Illinois

due to social network ties with peasants in the nearby town of Cohetzala

Puebla across state lines (Gonzaacutelez Cheacutevez nd34) As a corollary a satu-

ration point for migration taking into consideration in-migration and marital

and ritual kinship relationships may never occur

Migration Patterns from ldquoColonia Popularrdquoin Mexicali Baja California Sur




Michoacaacuten (Kemper 1977) and among migrants to the settlement of

Cerrada del Condor (Lomnitz 1976 1977)mdashall in Mexico City among

migrants to Monterrey Nuevo Leacuteon from a variety of origin communities(Balaacuten et al 1973 Browning and Feindt 1977) to a fraccionamiento (le-

galized settlement) in Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua (Ugalde 1974) and to

a squatter settlement in Mexicali Baja California from a variety of states

(Wilson 1992 1993)

Transnational migration from Mexican cities (as opposed to rural ar-

eas) is beginning to receive more attention (eg Fussell 2004 Fussell

and Massey 2004 Hernaacutendez-Leacuteon 2004 2008 Lozano Ascencio 2000

Lozano-Ascencio et al 1996 Roberts et al 1999 Wilson 2009b 2009c)

Families who migrated internally to Mexico City and to cities along the

US-Mexico border and elsewhere are sending members into the trans-

national migration stream also because a much higher percentage of the

population now lives in urban centers rather than in rural regions and par-

tially because structural adjustment policies imposed by the International

Monetary Fund and the World Bank after the 1982 debt crisis in Mexico

fueled higher rates of unemployment in Mexican cities In considering

transnational migration from urban centers Fussell and Massey (2004)

admit that processes of cumulative causation tend to be absent there

Assuming that social capital is embedded in migration networks (a subset

of reciprocity networks) they distinguish between a community-based so-

cial capital common only in rural communities and a family-based social

capital found in both rural and urban communities

community-based migration-related social capital significantly con-tributes to the probability of taking a first US trip in nonurban areas

buthellipthere is little effect of this type of social capital in urban areas

mostly because levels of migration experience rarely reach the criti-

cal point at which they might cause the self-feeding process of mi-

gration (Fussell and Massey 2004165)

Little is offered by these authors in terms of the dynamics of family-

based social capital and its expansion in urban centers however Themarital incorporation of new and non-overlapping network members es-



TAMAR DIANA WILSON

true when migrants are from a variety of states and a variety of locales

within any one sending state

As the offspring of one family marry into other families (who most oftenhave offspring who will marry into still other families) a kind of group united

by marriages comes into being in which reciprocity relationships may or

may not be established among its members Family networks and the

social capital they bear thus expand over the life-cycle If the son of one

family marries into a family with two daughters theoretically (and cultur-

ally) he is enabled to tap into aid not only from his parents-in-law and their

siblings but also from his sister-in-lawrsquos husbandrsquos family and friends If

he has siblings they will most likely marry into other families whose off-

springrsquos spouses can also be potential aids in the migration process

A core component of the theory of cumulative causation rests on its

longitudinal analysis When transnational migration networks first begin

only those with sufficient economic resources to afford the costs and

risks of the transnational journey will attempt to cross the border The

poorest members of a rural community in their search for employment

tend to migrate seasonally or permanently to Mexicorsquos cities (eg Arizpe

1981 Dinerman 1982 Roberts 1981) This is especially true for those

who have no network members to call on for aid in the transnational mi-

gration process3 Internal migration has lower costs and risks and may

also be mediated by network members After the poorest (in terms of

economic and social capital) leave the community to migrate internally

to cities transnational migration networks at origin continue to expand

in keeping with the theory of cumulative causation Thus a family which

migrated internally in one decade may find themselves with network re-sources to establish themselves in the US in succeeding decades These

matured networks may be drawn upon by the parents their offspring or

their offspringsrsquo spouses

My study of what I call ldquoColonia Popularrdquo in Mexicali from 1988 to 1992

and from observations and interviews in the same community in 2002 and

2003 illuminate how networks expand in urban centers (Wilson 2009b

2009c) Few of the original inhabitants of the coloniamdashfounded by inva-

sion in 1983mdashhave ever established themselves in the US though someof their offspring have done so The exceptions were members of 15 of




fields of the Imperial Valley or nearby Yuma Arizona or relocate for some

months at a time to work in the Salinas California area during the harvest

period The migration histories of the offspring of the original in-migrantsto Colonia Popular illuminate four principles of network-mediated migra-

tion that are applicable for transnational migration from cities First as

mentioned above whereas internal migrants at the time they leave their

ranchos and pueblos of origin may be poorer economically and in terms

of transnational network resources than international emigrants transna-

tional migration networks continue developing and expanding at origin

after they leave as predicted by the (modified) theory of cumulative causa-

tion This principle is illustrated by the migration history of a couple that

met and married in Colonia Popular whom I call Rauacutel and Irma Rauacutelacutes

father Don Ramoacuten had crossed to work in the US from his rancho in

Jalisco five times under the Bracero Program (1942-1964) but did not

have the network resources to establish himself and his family there In

1983 the family moved from Jalisco to Mexicali and acquired a lot in

Colonia Popular Six years later when Rauacutel was 21 four of Rauacutelrsquos ma-

ternal unclersquos offspring had established themselves in Los Angeles The

transnational migration network anchored in Rauacutelrsquos motherrsquos rancho of

origin had expanded in less than a decade to the point where Rauacutel and

his family now could tap aid4 to find housing and work in the US Thus

in 1989 Rauacutel crossed the border to join his four cousinsmdashthree men and

one womanmdashand their spouses His wife Irma soon followed After Rauacutel

and his cousins relocated to ldquoLake Tahoe Townrdquo Nevada his father joined

him there All worked in hotel maintenance Eventually Rauacutelrsquos mother one

of his sisters and one of his brothers crossed to live in Lake Tahoe Townas well The transnational migration of Rauacutel and his immediate family was

made possible because migration networks in Rauacutelrsquos motherrsquos rancho of

origin had spread to encompass his unclersquos offspring

The second principle lies in the observation that transnational migration

networks may be tapped not only in the place of actual residence but also

in places of prior residence whether by self parents spouse or spousersquos

family Hernaacutendez-Leoacuten (2004441) for example has noted that highly

skilled migrants from the city of Monterrey often use networks based inrural localities to migrate to Texas Massey et al (198799-100) also found



TAMAR DIANA WILSON

contests the bounded nature of the theory of cumulative causation The

first is that of Castulo who married a woman from a neighboring ran-

cho in Zacatecas after they met on a brickyard in Guadalajara where theirfamilies worked as brickmakers Eventually he and his wife his parents

and his siblings (both married and unmarried) came to Mexicali to work in

the brickyards there and some family members acquired lots in Colonia

Popular In 1996 15 years after their arrival in Mexicali Castulorsquos wife

pleaded with him to return to her rancho for an extended visit with her par-

ents whom she had not seen since they married From his wifersquos rancho

Castulo was linked into a transnational migration stream to a small town

in Texas He worked there for six years in a cement factory and in 2002

planned to bring his wife and offspring to live with him in Texas

The second case is that of Manuela whose mother was born in

Chihuahua and whose father was born in Quintana Roo Her parents met

in Mexico City where Manuela was born The family first migrated from

Mexico City to Tijuana and in 1984 migrated again to Mexicali to take up

residence in Colonia Popular After finishing secondary school in Mexicali

Manuela went to live with her motherrsquos relatives in Chihuahua while at-

tending a vocational school for teachers She met and married a fellow

student they separated after two years When she returned to Chihuahua

several years later old school mates put her in touch with her estranged

husband who had meanwhile migrated to Phoenix Arizona Manuela ac-

companied by her younger brother Miguel crossed the border to join her

husband after he offered to pay for the coyote (human smuggler) The

reconciliation was short and she soon returned to Mexicali though her

brother Miguel remained in Phoenix for seven years The importance ofthis case is that it shows how a migration stream can be joined from a

place of prior residence whether short- or long-term where strong ties

have been established or where reciprocity networks are in place

A third principle is that women may play a primary role in the transnation-

al migration stream drawing in not only female relatives as Hondagneu-

Sotelo (1994) has so cogently shown but also male relatives These may

include brothers and sistersrsquo husbands as well as sons and sons-in-law

(Wilson 2009c) Thus in Rauacutelrsquos case it was his maternal unclersquos offspringwho first helped him migrate to Los Angeles and then on to Lake Tahoe




The fourth principle concerns the dynamics of family social capital

network expansion in urban centers Specifically transnational migra-

tory network expansion for men is fueled by the marriage of their sistersinto families with initially non-overlapping but continuously developing

transnational migration networks anchored in different communities of

origin in Mexico that encompass different destinations in the US In Dontildea

Consuelorsquos family in Colonia Popular three of her eight daughters married

men with network ties and work experience in the US Irma married Raacuteul

and migrated with him first to Los Angeles then to Lake Tahoe Town and

then to Carson City Anamaria married a man whose motherrsquos network

took them to ldquoWatersrdquo Arizona Rosario married a man who recurrently

migrates to San Jose California Their five brothers who previously had

no transnational migratory networks now have the option because of their

sistersrsquo marriages to tap aid in three different locations in three different

states Only the eldest brother has taken advantage of those opportu-

nities however Edgar has worked in hotel maintenance in Lake Tahoe

Town and in construction in Watersmdashin both cases being networked into

employment by sisterrsquos husbands or sisterrsquos husbandrsquos relatives Another

brother who has a border-crossing card has visited both Anamaria in

Waters and Irma in Carson City within the past three yearsmdashpartially to

scout out employment possibilities In sum sisters living in cities will most

likely marry men with non-overlapping (but constantly developing) migra-

tion networks anchored in different origin communities thereby providing

their brothers with a number of choices as to where to migrate in the US

and making migration a possibility for those who had no previous transna-

tional migratory networkTo summarize networks expand in urban centers as offspring marry

and are enabled to migrate due to their spousersquos or in-lawsrsquo networks

They in turn may help their siblings and sometimes even their parents

to migrate Marriage involves the incorporation of husbands into wifersquos

and wifersquos parentsrsquo networks and of wives into husbandrsquos and husbandrsquos

parentsrsquo networks If either spouse is immersed into a developing trans-

national migration network centered on a rural community husbands may

help wives to migrate and wives help husbands Also brothers may in turnhelp sisters to migrate or vice versa Of central concern is that the role



TAMAR DIANA WILSON

cumulative causation meaning that people who migrated internally due to

lack of transnational network resources may at some future time indeed

have these resourcesIn revising the theory of cumulative causation developed by Douglas S

Massey and his colleagues I argue that the expansion of rural networks at

origin is important in understanding the dynamics of transnational immi-

gration Migration streams often do not ldquodry uprdquo after the majority of fami-

lies from a given community send members into the transnational labor

migration stream The expansion of local networks permits members of

ever more peripheral communities to take advantage of the economic op-

portunities which are embodied in the transnational migration option That

is because local networks come to incorporate more and more people

who have in-migrated from peripheral population centers to the dynamic

migration sending community or because marital ties are established be-

tween people in nearby communities Over time migration networks come

to incorporate more and more people though there is less community-

level social capital involved and more family-level social capital (though

the number of families incorporated may be quite large) in urban centers

This family-level social capital can be tapped both from an individualrsquos

previous place of origin or residence and from a family memberrsquos previ-

ous place of origin or residence Migration networks expand in both rural

and urban centers through marriage friendship and compadrazgo ties

In conclusion I sustain that the idea of cumulative causation is seemingly

correct and well documented but its corollary ldquosaturation thesisrdquo is ques-

tionable both in rural communities and in urban centers as neither families

nor communities are ldquoboundedrdquo when it concerns network-expansion983150

A c k n ow l e d gme n t s

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological

Association New Orleans November 17 to 21 2010

E n d n o t e s

1

In-migration and in-migrants are used to refer to the phenomenon of internal migration within Mexicowhether rural to rural or rural to urban Immigration is used to refer to those migrants or immigrants who

cross international borders




3The poorest of the poor at least economically are the children who seek to reunite with a parent or par-

ents in the US Nazario (20065) reports that 48000 children from Central America and Mexico annually

seek to enter the US without documents two-thirds of whom manage to avoid being apprehended by

the US Immigration and Naturalization Service Yet even they have some form of familial social capital

at destination since if they find their parent(s) they are most usually assured housing food clothing andschooling One problem (among many) that they face however is that the children do not always know

where their parents live in the US

4This aid can take the form of providing housing whether temporarily or permanently orientation to the

new location such as information about the whereabouts of stores and medical clinics or how to acquire

such services as a phone number and access to the general knowledge of job opportunities and of job

openings in particular

R e f e r e n c e s

Arizpe Lourdes 1981 ldquoThe Rural Exodus in Mexico and Mexican Migration to the USrdquo International

Migration Review 15(4)636-649

Balaacuten Jorge Harley L Browning and Elizabeth Jelin 1973 Men in a Developing Society Geographic and

Social Mobility in Monterrey Mexico Austin University of Texas Press

Browning Harley L and Waltraut Feindt 1971 ldquoThe Social and Economic Context of Migration to

Monterrey Mexicordquo In Francine F Rabinowithz and Felecity Trueblood eds Latin American Urban

Research Volume I 45-70 Beverly Hills Sage

Butterworth Douglas 1962 ldquoA Study of the Urbanization Process Among Mixtec Migrants from Tilantongo

in Mexico Cityrdquo Ameacuterica Indiacutegena 22(3)257-274

Cohen Jeffrey H 2004 The Culture of Mexican Migration in Southern Mexico Austin University of Texas

Press

Cornelius Wayne A 1991 ldquoLos Migrantes de la Crisis The Changing Profile of Mexican Migration to

the USrdquo In Mercedes Gonzaacutelez de la Rocha and Agustiacuten Escobar Latapiacute eds Social Responses toMexicorsquos Economic Crisis of the 1980s 155-194 La Jolla University of California San Diego Center

for US-Mexico Studies

Dinerman Ina R 1982 Migrants and Stay-At-Homes A Comparative Study of Rural Migration from

Michoacan Mexico Monograph Series 5 La Jolla Univerisity of California San Diego Center for

US-Mexican Studies

Durand Jorge and Douglas S Massey 1992 ldquoMexican Migration to the US A Critical Reviewrdquo Latin

American Research Review 273-42

Fussell Elizabeth 2004 ldquoSources of Mexicoacutes Migration Stream Rural Urban and Border Migrants to the

USrdquo Social Forces 82(3)937-967

Fussell Elizabeth and Douglas S Massey 2004 ldquoThe Limits to Cumulative Causation International

Migration from Mexican Urban Areasrdquo Demography 41(1)151-171

Garciacutea Martha 2007 ldquoMigraciones del Alto Balsasrdquo Regiones Suplemento de antropologiacutea 302-4

Accessed from httpwwwelregionalcommxsuplementos regionesphp on Nov 1 2010

Gonzaacutelez Cheacutevez Liliaacuten nd ldquoAnclajes y transformaciones culturales de un pueblo nahua en transicioacuten

El caso de Temalac Guerrerordquo Accessed from httpphpwebhostingcom7Emigrationmodules

seminarioegonzalezlilianpdf on Nov 1 2010

Hernaacutendez-Leoacuten Rubeacuten 2004 ldquoRestructuring the Source High-Skilled Industrial Migration from Mexico

to the USrdquo Work and Occupations 31(4)424-452

____________ 2008 Metropolitan Migrants The Migration of Urban Mexicans to the US Berkeley

University of California Press

Hondagneu-Sotelo Pierrette 1994 Gendered Transitions Mexican Experiences of Migration BerkeleyUniversity of California Press

Kearney Michael 1986 ldquoFrom Invisible Hands to Invisible Feet Anthropological Studies of Migration and



TAMAR DIANA WILSON

Kemper Robert V 1977 Migration and Adaptation Tzintzuntzan Peasants in Mexico City Beverly Hills

Sage

Lomnitz Larissa 1976 ldquoMigration and Network in Latin Americardquo In Alejarndro Portes and Harley L

Browning eds Current Perspectives in Latin American Urban Research 133-151 Austin Universityof Texas Press

____________ 1977 Networks and Marginality Life in a Mexican Shantytown New York Academic Press

Lozano-Ascencio Fernando 2000 ldquoMigration Strategies in Urban Contexts Labor Migration from

Mexico City to the USrdquo Paper presented at the XXII International Congress of the Latin American

Studies Association Miami Florida March 16-18 2000

Lozano-Ascencio Fernando Bryan R Roberts and Frank D Bean 1997 ldquoThe Interconnectedness

of Internal and International Migration The Case of the United States and Mexicordquo Soziale Welt

Transnational Migration 12163-178

Massey Douglas S 1987 ldquoUnderstanding Mexican Migration to the USrdquo American Journal of Sociology

921372-1403

Massey Douglas S Rafael Alarcoacuten Jorge Durand and Humberto Gonzaacutelez 1987 Return to AztlaacutenThe Social Process of International Migration from Western Mexico Berkeley University of California

Press

Massey Douglas S Jorge Durand and Nolan J Malone 2003 Beyond Smoke and Mirrors Mexican

Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration New York Russell Sage Foundation

Massey Douglas S and Kristin E Espinosa 1997 ldquoWhatrsquos Driving Mexico-US Immigration A Theoretical

Empirical and Policy Analysisrdquo American Journal of Sociology 102939-999

Massey Douglas S and Felipe Garciacutea Espantildea 1987 ldquoThe Social Process of International Migrationrdquo

Science 237733-738

Massey Douglas S Luin P Goldring and Jorge Durand 1994 ldquoContinuities in Transnational Migration

An Analysis of Nineteen Communitiesrdquo American Journal of Sociology 991492-1532

Mines Richard and Douglas S Massey 1985 ldquoPatterns of Migration to the US from Two Mexican

Communitiesrdquo Latin American Research Review 20104-122

Nazario Sonia 2006 Enriquersquos Journey New York Random House

Nuntildeez Gullermina Gina and Josiah McC Heyman 2007 ldquoEntrapment Processes and Immigrant

Communities in a Time of Heightened Border Vigilancerdquo Human Organization 66(4)354-366

Portes Alejandro and Robert L Bach 1985 Latin Journey Cuban and Mexican Immigrants in the US

Berkeley University of California Press

Roberts Bryan R Reanne Frank and Fernando Lozano-Ascensio 1999 ldquoTransnational Migrant

Communities and Mexican Migration to the USrdquo Ethnic and Racial Studies 22(2) Accessed from

httpwwwmigraciony desarrolloorg on June 1 2011

Roberts Kenneth D 1981 Agrarian Structure and Labor Migration in Rural Mexico Working Paper in US-

Mexican Studies No 30 La Jolla University of California San Diego Center for US-Mexican Studies

Ugalde Antonio 1974 The Urbanization Process of a Poor Mexican Neighborhood Austin University of

Texas Press

Wilson Tamar Diana 1992 ldquoVamos para Buscar La Vida Patterns of Outmigration from a Rancho in

Jalisco and In-migration to a Mexicali Squatter Settlementrdquo PhD Dissertation Department of

Anthropology University of California Los Angeles

____________ 1993 ldquolsquoWe Seek Work Where We Canrsquo A Comparison of Patterns of Outmigration

from a Rancho in Jalisco and of Internal Migration into a Mexicali Squatter Settlementrdquo Journal of

Borderlands Studies 8(3)33-58

____________ 1994 ldquoWhat Determines Where Transnational Labor Migrants Go Modifications inMigration Theoriesrdquo Human Organization 53(3)269-278

1998 ldquoWeak Ties Strong Ties Network Principles in Mexican Migration rdquo Human




____________ 2009a ldquoThe Expansion of Immigrant Networks at Origin A Case Study of a Rancho in

Jaliscordquo Research in Economic Anthropology 29283-303

____________ 2009b ldquoBeyond Bounded Communities Network-Mediated Migration from an Urban

Colonia in Mexicali Mexicordquo Urban Anthropology 38(2-4)149-166____________ 2009c Womenrsquos Migration Networks in Mexico and Beyond Albuquerque University of

New Mexico Press

F o r e i g n l a n g u a g e t r a n s l a t i o n s


[Keywords Transnational migration cumulative causation network expansion non-bounded

communities family based social capital]

Causacioacuten cumulativa sin fronteras La expansion de redes en centros de migracioacuten rurales y urbanas

[Palabras clave migracioacuten internacional causacioacuten cumulativa redes migratorias redes de

asociacioacuten expansioacuten de redes]

累积因果之解脱在乡村与城市移民中心的网络扩张[ 关键词跨国迁移累积因果网络扩张无界社区以家庭为基础的社会资本 ]

Неограниченная кумулятивная причинность Расширение сети в сельских и городских

миграционных центрах

[Ключеве слова транснациональная миграция кумулятивная причинность расширение сетей

неограниченные общины социальный капитал основанный на семье]

Casualidade Cumulativa Sem Limites A Expanccedilatildeo de Redes Socias nos Centros Rurais e Urbanos

[Palavras chaves Migraccedilatildeo transnacional casualidade cumulativa expansatildeo de redes sociais

communidades abertas capital social familiar

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984644ا

مت

984644ا



Copyright of Anthropological Quarterly is the property of George Washington Institute for Ethnographic

Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the

copyright holders express written permission However users may print download or email articles for

individual use




Kearney 1986 1991 Massey 1987 Massey and Espinosa 1997 Massey

and Garciacutea Espantildea 1987 Massey et al 1987 Massey Goldring and

Durand 1994 Mines and Massey 1985 Nuntildeez and Heyman 2007 Portesand Bach 1985 Wilson 1992 1993 1994 1998 2006 and others) It has

been widely argued that transnational migration begins among pioneer-

ing immigrants economically capable of affording the costs of the trip

north and the risks of failure The pioneering migrants are usually young

men but as networks linking origin and destination communities mature

and a settlement process occurs the landless less well off women and

children are also incorporated into the migration stream (eg Durand

and Massey 1992 Massey and Espinosa 1997 Massey Goldring and

Durand 1994) Eventually as Massey and his colleagues show with the

maturation of migration networks migration becomes a relatively low-

cost low-risk strategy for all members of the community (eg Durand

and Massey 1992) Thus the migration process is cumulative as a former

migrant aids new migrants she will in turn extend aid in the migration

process to other members of herhis network

The ldquosaturation point thesisrdquo a corollary to this cumulative causation

thesis predicts that once every member of a given community has network

ties to the US when larger and larger numbers of community members re-

side abroad and when prevalence rates for migration reach approximately

80 percent among males ldquonetworks reach a point of numerical saturationrdquo

and ldquothe process of migration loses its dynamic momentum for growthrdquo

(Massey Goldring and Durand 19941502-1503)

In a more recent work Massey et al (200320 emphasis added) reiter-

ate their ldquosaturationrdquo thesis ldquoIn any bounded populationhellipprocesses ofcumulative causation cannot continue ad infinitum If migration continues

long enough networks eventually reach a point of saturation within any

particular communityrdquo They argue that emigration using networks based

in that community declines as ldquothe stock of new migrants becomes very

small and is increasingly composed of women children and the elderlyrdquo

(200320) For the purpose of analysis they assume that communities

are bounded entities within which the dynamic of cumulative causation

is encapsulatedI would like to propose that a saturation point in rural migrant-sending



TAMAR DIANA WILSON































































Wilson 1992 1998)






TAMAR DIANA WILSON




























































working in the US








TAMAR DIANA WILSON







































(Wilson 1992 1993)



























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E n d n o t e s

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Press






US-Mexican Studies




















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Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















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مت

984644ا






individual use



TAMAR DIANA WILSON































































Wilson 1992 1998)






TAMAR DIANA WILSON




























































working in the US








TAMAR DIANA WILSON







































(Wilson 1992 1993)



























TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON





























E n d n o t e s

1
















R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















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Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use
































Wilson 1992 1998)






TAMAR DIANA WILSON




























































working in the US








TAMAR DIANA WILSON







































(Wilson 1992 1993)



























TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON





























E n d n o t e s

1
















R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use



TAMAR DIANA WILSON




























































working in the US








TAMAR DIANA WILSON







































(Wilson 1992 1993)



























TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON





























E n d n o t e s

1
















R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use






























working in the US








TAMAR DIANA WILSON







































(Wilson 1992 1993)



























TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON





























E n d n o t e s

1
















R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use



TAMAR DIANA WILSON







































(Wilson 1992 1993)



























TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON





























E n d n o t e s

1
















R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use









(Wilson 1992 1993)



























TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON





























E n d n o t e s

1
















R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use



TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON





























E n d n o t e s

1
















R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use






































TAMAR DIANA WILSON






































































TAMAR DIANA WILSON





























E n d n o t e s

1
















R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use






































TAMAR DIANA WILSON





























E n d n o t e s

1
















R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use














R e f e r e n c e s











Press






US-Mexican Studies




















TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use



TAMAR DIANA WILSON


Sage











921372-1403


Press






Science 237733-738
















Texas Press
















New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use








New Mexico Press


















984644ا

مت

984644ا






individual use






individual use

wilson 2009 cumulative causation unbounded

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