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Child poverty across immigrant generations in the United States, 1993–2016: Evidence using the official and supplemental poverty measures

Author

Listed:
  • Brian Thiede

    (Pennsylvania State University)

  • Matthew M. Brooks

    (Pennsylvania State University)

Abstract

Background: Recent increases in ethno-racial diversity in the United States are paralleled by growing representation of first- and second-generation immigrants, especially among children. Socioeconomic inequalities along the lines of immigrant generation, race, and ethnicity suggest such demographic changes may result in greater disparities among recent, more-diverse cohorts of children. Objective: Describe poverty rates among US children across five immigrant generation groups, using the US government’s official poverty measure (OPM) and a supplemental poverty measure (SPM), which accounts for government transfers and costs of living. Methods: Using data from the Current Population Survey and historical SPM estimates from 1993–2016, we describe trends in child poverty, stratified by immigrant generation. We compare estimates of inter-generational differences and temporal changes based on the OPM and SPM, and we conduct stratified analyses for Hispanic and Asian children. Results: We find persistent differences in poverty rates between immigrant generations. First-generation non-citizens and second-generation children with two foreign-born parents have consistently higher poverty rates than other generations, between which there are minimal disparities. Differences between OPM- and SPM-based estimates suggest public supports and costs of living have differential welfare effects across groups. Contribution: We provide a historical record of child poverty differentials across immigrant generations, which have been understudied. Results demonstrate heterogeneity in the economic status of first- and second-generation children, which would be masked using other immigrant-generation typologies. Differences in OPM- and SPM-based measures raise questions about inter-generational disparities in public supports and costs of living, and stratified results highlight the intersection of race, ethnicity, and nativity as axes of inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian Thiede & Matthew M. Brooks, 2018. "Child poverty across immigrant generations in the United States, 1993–2016: Evidence using the official and supplemental poverty measures," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(40), pages 1065-1080.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:39:y:2018:i:40
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2018.39.40
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    Cited by:

    1. Mueller, Tom, 2020. "The poverty balancing equation: Expressing poverty of place as a population process," SocArXiv ws3gd, Center for Open Science.
    2. J. Tom Mueller & Matthew M. Brooks & José D. Pacas, 2022. "Cost of Living Variation, Nonmetropolitan America, and Implications for the Supplemental Poverty Measure," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(4), pages 1501-1523, August.
    3. Regina S. Baker & David Brady & Zachary Parolin & Deadric T. Williams, 2022. "The Enduring Significance of Ethno-Racial Inequalities in Poverty in the U.S., 1993–2017," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 1049-1083, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    poverty; children; immigration; integration; racial/ethnic differences; diversity; United States of America; Hispanic; population;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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