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Title: The Contours and Correlates of Child Poverty Across Immigrant Generations
Citation Type: Working Paper
Publication Year: 2020
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Abstract: Recent cohorts of U.S. children increasingly consist of immigrants or the immediate descendants of immigrants, a demographic shift that has been implicated in high rates of child poverty. Analyzing data from the 2014-2018 Current Population Survey (CPS) and using the U.S. Census Bureau’s Supplementary Poverty Measure, we describe differences in child poverty rates across immigrant generations (first-, second-, and third+-generation immigrant children) and how these are rooted in generational differences in the prevalence and impact of key poverty risk factors. We find that (1) poverty rates among Hispanic children are very high, particularly among first- and second- generation with two foreign-born parents children; (2) limited parental employment is by far the greatest risk factor for child poverty compared to having a young or poorly educated parent, living in a single-headed family or disadvantaged place of residence; (3) inter-generational differences in risk factor prevalence explain non-trivial shares of corresponding child poverty gaps; and (4) the patterns observed among the Hispanic population are moderated by race and ethnicity. Understanding the intersection of poverty risks, immigrant generation, and race has significant policy implications has America’s population continues to grow more diverse along multiple social axes.
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Authors: Thiede, Brian C.; Brooks, Matthew M.; Jensen, Leif
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Institution: The Pennsylvania State University
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Data Collections: IPUMS CPS
Topics: Family and Marriage, Migration and Immigration, Poverty and Welfare
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