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Title: Do Mexican Immigrants Have Higher Self-Employment Rates along the U.S.-Mexico Border? An Analysis Using Historical IPUMS Data

Citation Type: Conference Paper

Publication Year: 2003

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Abstract: 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.

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Authors: Mora, Marie T.; Dvila, Alberto

Conference Name: Southern Economic Association 73rd Annual Conference

Publisher Location: San Antonio, TX

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Migration and Immigration

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