ABSTRACT
The importance of economic factors in international migration has been documented in both aggregate and survey approaches, several of which have demonstrated a good fit between the international distribution of economic opportunity and population distribution. The pattern of Puerto Rican migration to the U. S. mainland reveals that the character of the economic base of the migrant population has been changing in order to adapt to the changes in the U. S. labor market. International trade has created an international capitalist economic structure and a corresponding international market for labor. Controversies have accompanied research on women’s economic activities, as should be expected given its importance for development planning. Despite worldwide recognition of the goal of the United Nations Decade of Women to integrate women fully into all levels of social and economic life, evidence from various studies indicate slow progress.
