Ramón Medina-Sánchez

I’m a PhD student in Economics from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. I have a master’s degree in Applied Economics from El Colegio de la Frontera Norte and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit. I currently work as a Research Assistant in the Office of Planning, Research, & Institutional Effectiveness in San Diego Miramar College. Previously, I worked as a Research Assistant with Dr. Pedro Orraca, Dra. Eunice Vargas and Dra. Erin Hamilton in a research project about the implications of labor verification laws (E-verify) in the health of unauthorized migrants in USA.

Research Interests:
My research interests are labor markets, technological change and health economics. Currently, I am working on a project that analyzes the polarization of the labor market and the technological change in Mexico.

selected publications

Est. Dem. y Urb.

Wages and occupational risks of Mexican immigrants in the United States.

Rocha, D., Medina, R., and Orraca, P.

Estudios Demográficos y Urbanos 2022

Abs HTML PDF

The reality of Mexican immigrants in the United States shows that in recent years there has been a notable prevalence of accidents and illnesses that are closely linked to their labor activity. Their immigration status, low human capital levels and poor knowledge of the English language, are some of the elements that lead workers to insert themselves into activities that put their health and physical integrity at risk. Using data from the Survey of Migration in the Northern Border of Mexico, a descriptive analysis is carried out and quantile regressions are estimated to analyze the relationship between the wages of Mexican immigrants in the United States and the accidents or illnesses that they incur as a result of their job. It is observed that Mexicans employed in the United States legally receive higher wages and suffer less work-related accidents relative to their undocumented counterparts. Moreover, the results suggest that among undocumented workers there is a wage premium associated with working in dangerous occupations, particularly in the upperpart of the wage distribution.
Book Chapt.

Reintegration and economic assimilation of international return migrants in Mexico.

Orraca, P., and Medina, R.

2021

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The study seeks to contribute to the literature that studies international return migration by examining the labor performance in Mexico of the returned population from the United States during their economic reintegration and assimilation process. Specifically, international return migrants who resided in the United States during their first four quarters in Mexico are analyzed, one year after returning and five years after their return, pointing out the differences between those who returned to the country voluntarily and those who returned to the country voluntarily. They were deported by US authorities, allowing the participation of returnees in the national labor market to be measured and their performance evaluated at different stages of their economic reintegration process.
Book Chapt.

Informal work and labor participation during the commercial opening process in Mexico.

Orraca, P., García, E., and Medina, R.

2019

Abs PDF

This chapter analyzes the informal work and labor participation during the commercial opening process in Mexico. In particular, the role of schooling levels and regional differences in labor participation rates and informality are examined.