Ethnic density, immigrant enclaves, and Latino health risks: A propensity score matching approach

Kelin Li, Ming Wen and Kevin A. Henry

Social Science & Medicine, 2017, vol. 189, issue C, 44-52

Abstract: Whether minority concentration in a neighborhood exposes residents to, or protects them from, health risks has generated burgeoning scholarly interests; yet endogeneity as a result of neighborhood selection largely remains unclear in the literature. This study addresses such endogeneity and simultaneously investigates the roles of co-ethnic density and immigrant enclaves in influencing high blood pressure and high cholesterol level among Latinos, the largest minority group in the United States. Pooled cross-sectional data that included both native and foreign-born Latinos of Puerto Rican, Mexican, and other origins (N = 1563) from the 2006 and 2008 Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey were linked to census-tract profiles from the 2005–2009 American Community Survey. Results from both multilevel regression and propensity score matching analysis confirmed the deleterious effect of residential co-ethnic density on Latino adults' health risks over and above individual risk factors. We also found selection bias associated with the observed protective effect of immigrant concentration, which is likely a result of residential preference.

Keywords: Racial composition; Neighborhoods; Health; Latino; Immigrants; Sample selection; Propensity score matching (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.07.019

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