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Tracking Intergenerational Progress for Immigrant Groups: The Problem of Ethnic Attrition

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  • Brian Duncan
  • Stephen J. Trejo

Abstract

In tracking the later-generation descendants of immigrants, measurement biases can arise from "ethnic attrition" (e.g., US-born individuals who do not self-identify as Mexican despite having ancestors who immigrated from Mexico). We present evidence that such ethnic attrition is sizeable and selective for the third-generation populations of key Hispanic and Asian immigrant groups. In addition, our results suggest that ethnic attrition generates biases that vary across national origin groups in direction as well as magnitude, and that correcting for these biases will raise the socioeconomic standing of the US-born descendants of most Hispanic immigrants relative to their Asian counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2011. "Tracking Intergenerational Progress for Immigrant Groups: The Problem of Ethnic Attrition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 603-608, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:101:y:2011:i:3:p:603-08
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2011. "Intermarriage and the Intergenerational Transmission of Ethnic Identity and Human Capital for Mexican Americans," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(2), pages 195-227.
    2. Delia Furtado, 2012. "Human Capital And Interethnic Marriage Decisions," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 50(1), pages 82-93, January.
    3. George J. Borjas, 2007. "Mexican Immigration to the United States," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number borj06-1.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ha Trong Nguyen & Luke B. Connelly & Huong Thu Le & Francis Mitrou & Catherine L. Taylor & Stephen R. Zubrick, 2020. "Ethnicity differentials in academic achievements: the role of time investments," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 1381-1418, October.
    2. Julie Park & Stephanie Nawyn & Megan Benetsky, 2015. "Feminized Intergenerational Mobility Without Assimilation? Post-1965 U.S. Immigrants and the Gender Revolution," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(5), pages 1601-1626, October.
    3. Nguyen, Ha Trong & Connelly, Luke & Le, Huong Thu & Mitrou, Francis & Taylor, Catherine & Zubrick, Stephen, 2018. "Explaining the evolution of ethnicity differentials in academic achievements: The role of time investments," MPRA Paper 90534, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Sakamoto, Arthur & Amaral, Ernesto F. L. & Wang, Sharron Xuanren & Nelson, Courtney, 2021. "The socioeconomic attainments of second-generation Nigerian and other black Americans: Evidence from the Current Population Survey, 2009–2019," OSF Preprints rgm5f, Center for Open Science.
    5. Peter McHenry & Melissa McInerney, 2015. "Estimating Hispanic-White Wage Gaps Among Women: The Importance of Controlling for Cost of Living," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 249-273, September.
    6. Alain Bélanger & Patrick Sabourin & Guillaume Marois & Jennifer Van Hook & Samuel Vézina, 2019. "A framework for the prospective analysis of ethno-cultural super-diversity," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(11), pages 293-330.
    7. John Iceland & Gregory Sharp, 2013. "White Residential Segregation in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: Conceptual Issues, Patterns, and Trends from the U.S. Census, 1980 to 2010," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 32(5), pages 663-686, October.
    8. Francisca Antman & Brian Duncan, 2015. "Incentives to Identify: Racial Identity in the Age of Affirmative Action," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(3), pages 710-713, July.
    9. Van C. Tran & Nicol M. Valdez, 2017. "Second-Generation Decline or Advantage? Latino Assimilation in the Aftermath of the Great Recession," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 155-190, March.
    10. Osea Giuntella, 2016. "Assimilation and Health: Evidence From Linked Birth Records of Second- and Third-Generation Hispanics," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(6), pages 1979-2004, December.
    11. Aycan Çelikaksoy, 2014. "Parental Background and Union Formation Behavior of Native Born Individuals in Sweden with a Foreign Background," Societies, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-12, June.
    12. Casey F. Breen, 2023. "Late-Life Changes in Ethnoracial Self-identification: Evidence from Social Security Administrative Data," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(1), pages 1-18, February.
    13. Duncan, Brian & Trejo, Stephen, 2011. "Low-Skilled Immigrants and the U.S. Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 5964, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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