The continuing in-migration of less-skilled workers to the United States has triggered mounting concern regarding the impact of immigration on natives. Scholars and laypeople alike are keenly interested in whether immigrants dampen wages for U.S. natives, particularly for minorities, who are thought to experience greater labor market competition with less-skilled immigrants than do whites. Research has provided limited evidence that immigration depresses native pay in general (see Smith and Edmonston 1997; and Borjas 1999 for reviews). Findings regarding wage costs of immigration to native-born minorities or less-skilled workers have been inconsistent: analyses suggest that negative wage effects may obtain for the less-skilled (e.g., Johnson 1998) and for some racial/ethnic groups among native workers (Howell and Mueller 2000; Reimers 1998). However, research also suggests that immigration may positively influence wages for particular minority groups (Reimers 1998; Ong and Valenzuela 1996). Notably, research on immigrant-native wage competition has been dominated by so-called “area studies,” which compare aggregate wages across metropolitan areas (MAs). Borjas (1999) suggests moving beyond this approach. Others argue specifically that research on immigrant-native wage competition should more . . .

Utilizing census data from 1910, 1920, 1990, and 2000 available in the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, we find clear differences between the early and late 1900s with respect to the self-employment tendencies of Mexican immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite rising opportunities for trade in the 1910s, the entrepreneurial tendencies of Mexican immigrant men along the border did not significantly vary from those of their counterparts in the rest of the U.S. when holding constant factors related to self-employment selection. In 1990 and 2000, however, Mexican immigrants in border cities had significantly higher self-employment rates than their otherwise similar peers, suggesting the existence of greater trade opportunities for this population at this time. Overall, our findings indicate that studies assuming homogeneity among Mexican business owners in the U.S. may obtain an incomplete picture of the factors and processes related to entrepreneurial formation along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Research on U.S. Spanish over the last thirty years, and earlier, has demonstrated an inexorable loss of the language among Spanish speaking populations here. However, analyses of 1980, 1990, and 2000 U.S. Census data, using an innovative approach known as a synthetic cohort, reveal a high degree of transmission of Spanish from first generation to second generation speakers. Data from the Integrated Public Microdata Series (IPUMS) are used to create a simulated longitudinal sample of Spanish speakers over a ten year period, tracking reported language use of individuals starting at ages 5-7 and ending at ages 15-17. Comparison of analyses using a cross-sectional approach indicate that other studies have tended to under-report the degree of transmission between first and second generation speakers. English language acquisition is studied as well, indicating that second generation speakers are bilingual, with a high degree of control of both Spanish and English.

Black leaders in the early twentieth century often claimed that black retail enterprise in the urban North was impeded by competition from white immigrant merchants. Their argument rested on a set of beliefs now called saturation theory. To test this theory, I analyze census data from 1910 to 1930, when blacks established themselves in northern urban economies. The results fail to support the theory. The level of retail enterprise of blacks was unrelated to that of foreign-born whites. Thus, contrary to assertions of many activists, black entrepreneurs were not displaced from retailing in northern cities during the early twentieth century.

This study describes trends in occupational sex and race segregation simultaneously to determine if, from 1940 to 1990, there has been convergence or divergence in labor market outcomes. Results are presented in light of both modernization theory and institutional/queue theory. Modernization theory suggests that over time, occupational segregation will decrease, while institutional/queue theory suggests segregation will not decline due to rigidities and barriers in the occupational structure. Recent conceptualization of segregation consisting of vertical and horizontal segregation is also tested. Log multiplicative models are used to analyze occupational segregation in nine broad occupational classifications, as well as within each classification. Results on broad and detailed occupational segregation suggest that there are three processes that allocate race/sex groups into occupations. The processes vary within the detailed occupations, however. Segregation declines in two of the three queues over time but the pattern of segregation and the overall queuing of race/sex groups do not change. At the detailed level, the level of segregation is much higher than at the broad level. The pattern of segregation at the detailed level suggests that there is little re-segregation occurring over time; that ghetto-ization is the more typical pattern. Aspects of both modernization and institutional theories are supported. Although one queue is restricted to be a vertical queue in these analyses, the concept of vertical/horizontal segregation is not supported by this analysis.

The author examines available evidence on the effects of exposure to joblessness on emotional well-being according to race and sex. The impact of racism on general health outcomes also is considered, particularly racism in the specific form of wage discrimination. Perceptions of racism and measured exposures to racism may be distinct triggers for adverse health outcomes. Whether the effects of racism are best evaluated on the basis of self-classification or social classification of racial identity is unclear. Some research sorts between the effects of race and socioeconomic status on health. The development of a new longitudinal database will facilitate more accurate identification of connections between racism and negative health effects.

Explores the demographic characteristics of recent immigrantsthose who arrived in the United States between 1991 and 2000including their region of origin, age at arrival, geographic concentration throughout California, share of the states population, family composition, educational attainment, hourly wages, poverty rates, employment, rates of home ownership, and English language ability. Compares socioeconomic outcomes of these immigrants with the outcomes of immigrants who arrived in the United States between 1980 and 1990.

Over the last 30 years, nonmetropolitan regions across the United States have experienced volatile population shifts ranging from rapid growth to persistent decline. Several authors have suggested the age structure of the population may contribute to these population trends. In the 1970s, the older baby boomers were entering labor and housing markets while the younger boomers were enrolling in nonmetropolitan colleges and universities. By the 1980s, this large cohort was aging into a different stage in the life course. This paper examines metropolitan and nonmetropolitan population shifts during the 1970s and 1980s within an age-cohort framework. Using PUMS data from 1980 and 1990, the analysis explores relationships between housing market, labor market, place characteristics and the migration flows of different age-cohorts. The analysis focuses on cohort specific in-migration to two regions: New England and the Four Corners states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. The results are consistent with a life-course understanding of migration behavior, especially during the late 1970s, with older cohort shifts directed towards nonmetropolitan destinations and younger cohort shifts more influenced by labor and housing market variables. The results further demonstrate a large potential for future nonmetropolitan population growth, yet these growth experiences are likely to be regionally differentiated. These results have important policy implications for nonmetropolitan regions. Keywords: cohort shift, nonmetropolitan population change, migration

Research on the "new second generation" takes the success of the earlier second generation of southern and eastern Europeans as its point departure, but with little empirical basis. The hypothesis of "segmented assimilation" asserts that the children of 1880-1920 immigration moved ahead due to the availability of well-paying, relatively low-skilled jobs in manufacturing. By contrast, defenders of the conventional approach to assimilation accent diffusionary processes, while conceding that the specific means by which the children of immigrants improved on their parents' condition remains a matter about which little is known. This paper returns to the world for the last second generation, just before it disappeared, to inquire into the extent and nature of the economic differences separating the adult immigrant offspring of the time from their 3rd generation-plus counterparts. Using data from the 1970 Census of Population, the paper shows that manufacturing mattered, but in ways neither expected nor consistent with either of today's prevailing, theoretical approaches.

Each year, Job Corps receives about $1 billion to serve over 70,000 new participants, mostly in a residential environment. Although the purpose of the Job Corps is to help disadvantaged youth become more responsible, employable, and productive citizens, its high costs prompted policy makers to ask whether the program has discernible, positive impacts on program participants. To this end, the National Job Corps Study (NJCS) was commissioned to assess the benefits to program participants. A four-year longitudinal study, the NJCS was a randomized experiment in which over 15,000 Job Corps eligible applicants were randomized into two groups: those that could receive Job Corps services and those that would not be eligible for three years. The final report found that Job Corps had positive impacts in the weekly earnings of whites and others 48 months after randomization. However, no statistically significant increase was found for Hispanics. Since Hispanics represent a significant and growing proportion of the population, and disproportionately have disadvantaged characteristics, it is important to understand the reasons behind the lack of positive impact of Job Corps. This paper investigates several possible explanations for this result. Since the initial randomization was over the whole sample, we argue that it did not create comparable treatment and control groups for Hispanics. Given the failure of randomization for Hispanics, we employ non experimental estimators to examine the programmatic outcome of Hispanics. In addition, we examine various unique characteristics of Hispanics that could affect their benefits from a program such as Job Corps.

This article examined gender wage inequality, which in 1973 Ronald Oaxaca surmised could only be partly described by characteristic differences between the sexes and the remainder due to discrimination. Specifically, this paper examined the gender wage difference in jobs using Information Technology (IT) intensively. It determined that the gender wage gap was smaller for technologically intensive positions than that of traditional occupations. In this article, two regressions were run: one representing all occupations and one with data from technology intensive professions. In the first data set, gender was found to play a major determinant of wages and was responsible for the 41 percent penalty that the typical American woman paid for simply being female in todays labor market. The second regression found that in IT fields, men and women were not paid significantly different wages.

The value of federal income tax deductions, such as the home mortgage interest deduction (MID), varies across geographic regions. This study uses 1995 tax data to investigate the extent to which the current mortgage deduction is used and how the utilization differs across regions. The authors show that substantial regional differences in using the MID are related to differences in income, the level of house prices, the rate and form of state and local taxation, and demographic differences that affect homeownership and the amount of mortgage debt. About 40% of the explained regional variation in itemization is due to regional differences in house prices; another 20% is due to differences in state and local income and property taxes. About two thirds of the explained regional variation in the average size of the MID is due to regional differences in housing prices and state and local income and property taxes.

We derive a structural index for labor market density based on the Ellison-Glaeser index for industry concentration. The labor market density index serves as a proxy for the number of workers that are potentially available for jobs in a particular area. The index is based on observed home-work location patterns. It is particularly useful for testing theories where the scale of the market matters. We apply this index to a standard wage equation and find that it explains almost half of the cross-region wage variance.

Of course, the myth of the "dumb farmer" was always just that. Farmers who settled the Midwest in the 19th century started schools and colleges as well. While their descendants sometimes didn't attend as much school as people in towns and cities did, they kept up with new tools and ideas via extension service courses, clubs, co-ops and churches.The difference today is tied to the much larger size and operating scope of farms. Two generations ago, a farmer raised a family on the proceeds of 160 acres, rotated among two or three crops, and kept track of accounts on a simple ledger. Now, farms of 1,000 or more acres are common, with four or more crops in rotation, and accounts are kept on computers providing real-time weather and commodity information.

This paper analyses the effect of child labor on household labor supply using 1920 US Census micro data. The aim of the analysis is to understand who in the household benefits from child labor. In order to identify a source of exogenous variation in child labor I use State-specific child labor laws. I find that a rise in the proportion of working children by household is associated with no variation in parents labor supply. I also find a strong negative externality among children: as the proportion of working children by household rises, everything else equal, the probability that each child works falls while the probability that he attends school rises. This suggests that parents redistribute entirely the returns from child labor to the children in the household, consistent with a model of household labor supply with fully altruistic parents.