| Summary: | This study evaluates the hypothesis that in rural communities, recent international migration has led to greater inequality in income distribution (Stark, Taylor and Yitzhaki, 1986). A decomposition of the Gini coefficient by income source was used to analyze the effect of international remittances on income distribution in a sample of 37% of the households in San Miguel Coatlán, Oaxaca. The results show that although this community displays acute inequality, remittances improve income distribution. Migratory history does not determine the form of distribution, which instead depends on the structure of the households that receive remittances, the importance of the latter compared with other income, and certain cultural forms that encourage the incorporation into migration of certain members of households from all the economic strata in the community.
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