CONTINUITIES IN TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION - AN ANALYSIS OF 19 MEXICAN COMMUNITIES

Researchers working in Mexican communities have observed both regulari ties and inconsistencies in the way that transnational migration devel ops over time. This article presents a theory that accounts for these uniformities and discrepancies and proposes a method to compare the pr ocess of migration across communities. It also argues that studies mus t report and control for the prevalence of migration within communitie s. Data from 19 Mexican communities show that predictable demographic, social, and economic changes accompany increases in migratory prevale nce. Although international migration begins within a narrow range of each community's socioeconomic structure, over time it broadens to inc orporate other social groups.