Generational Differences in Mexican-Americans' Earnings

Yukio Kawano, Daito Bunka University
Katharine M. Donato, Rice University
Charles Tolbert, Baylor University

Generational economic progress of Mexican Americans is stagnant in terms of earnings. Using the Current Population Survey data from 1994 to 2003, we test if earnings of the third generation Mexicans are different from that of the second generation. We classify two types of the second generation: one who has one Mexican-born parent (SG-1) and another who has two (SG-2), and analyze male and female workers separately. Among females, we do not find significant difference between the two generations after controlling for human capital, urban residence, and industry in which they work. Among males, SG-2 makes just as much earnings as the third generation does. These results suggest that Mexican American’s earnings in general do not change by generation. Exceptionally, male children with mixed-nativity parents (SG-1) earn significantly greater than the third. We assume such parents are better equipped with resources to support their male children’s adaptation.