Conclusions and Policy Implications

Abstract

The way of life and work of migratory farm workers on the East Coast of the United States has been investigated from several angles by exploring the rather fragmentary body of knowledge on these workers, by analyzing the data gathered in the fourteen-state survey of their geographic mobility, earnings and socioeconomic characteristics, and by comparing them to the occupational group to which they are closest: the nonmigratory farm workers. The difference between the popular image of these workers — as documented by filmmakers, reporters, and journalists, as well as by social scientists making qualitative observations — on the one hand, and the facts revealed by the statistical analysis of the survey data on the other, proved to be particularly surprising and provided a picture of the migratory farm worker that is quite different from what was expected. The conclusions reached are therefore of great significance for policy makers concerned with improving the socioeconomic situation of these workers.