The article examines the consequences of the presence of migrants from other states for the income of blacks and whites in São Paulo state. Although there is extensive debate within international sociological literature on the consequences of immigration for native workers, little discussion exists as to the consequences of internal migration for workers native to the regions that receive internal migrants. Using micro data from the 2010 census, we built hierarchical statistical models to examine the contextual effect of the proportion of migrants in each municipality of São Paulo state on the wages of black and white native workers. The results show, first, that native blacks in São Paulo state experience severe discrimination in the labor market relative to native whites, which reduces their wages by more than ten per cent, relative to white workers with the same levels of education and experience in the same occupational categories. Interstate migration is also associated with significant wage increases for the native population, an effect that remains strong and highly significant even when we control the GDP of municipalities. This result is consistent with the literature on international migration, and shows that internal migration can benefit native workers in the same way as international immigration. The results also show that the benefits of migration could be slightly higher for native whites than for the native blacks, but this effect is weak and nonsignificant. These results concern general trends and could hide larger effects on the wages of native blacks in particular occupations or industries. This research should be complemented by investigation of the same tendencies separately within each occupational category and over time.
Internal migration; Racial inequality; Migrants' work; São Paulo state
