We study the impact of the 1907 Panic, the most severe economic crisis before the Great Depression, on the selection of Mexican immigration. We find that migrants were positively selected on height before the crisis. This pattern changed to negative selection during the crisis but returned to positive selection afterward. Adjustments in selection were partially mediated by the enganche, a historical labor-recruiting system that reduced migration costs but only for taller laborers with above-average earnings potential. We document that labor recruiting contributed to maintaining the relatively constant height profile of the migration flow in the short run.

我们研究了 1907 年恐慌（大萧条前最严重的经济危机）对墨西哥移民选择的影响。我们发现，在危机发生前，移民在身高上得到了积极的选择。这种模式在危机期间变为负选择，但之后又恢复为正选择。选择的调整部分由enganche调解，这是一种历史悠久的劳动力招聘系统，可以降低迁移成本，但仅限于收入潜力高于平均水平的高个子劳动力。我们记录了劳动力招聘有助于在短期内维持相对稳定的移民流高度分布。