This paper analyzes the causes of income gaps between migrants and non-migrants in the state of Minas Gerais. Under the hypothesis that these differentials and its causes are distinct along the wage distribution, we estimate quantile regressions e, with the results, we decompose the differences by the Junh, Murphy e Pierce (JMP) method. The main results indicate that: i) there is income inequality in favor of migrants, and it got higher between 2000 and 2010; ii) as expected, differentials present different reasons in each quantile of the income distribution; iii) non-observed effects (productivity, effort, etc.) are important in explaining inequality, for both years; iv) however, to explain the raise in the income gap, both observable and non-observable characteristics are more important than the returns to such characteristics. In this way, as most of the literature attests, migrants are positively selected, but among those with higher formal education, especially in 2010, it is not possible to acquire the expected income, or differential in income, given their greater skills. © 2017, Associacao Brasileira de Estudos Populacionais. All rights reserved.

Minas Gerais Decomposition of differences income inequality Migrants

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