Ancestry versus Ethnicity: The Complexity and Selectivity of Mexican Identification in the United States

Brian Duncan () and Stephen Trejo
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Brian Duncan: University of Colorado Denver

No 3552, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using microdata from the 2000 U.S. Census, we analyze the responses of Mexican Americans to questions that independently elicit their “ethnicity” (or Hispanic origin) and their “ancestry.” We investigate whether different patterns of responses to these questions reflect varying degrees of ethnic attachment. For example, those identified as “Mexican” in both the Hispanic origin and the ancestry questions might have stronger ethnic ties than those identified as Mexican only in the ancestry question. How U.S.-born Mexicans report their ethnicity/ancestry is strongly associated with measures of human capital and labor market performance. In particular, educational attainment, English proficiency, and earnings are especially high for men and women who claim a Mexican ancestry but report their ethnicity as “not Hispanic.” Further, intermarriage and the Mexican identification of children are also strongly related to how U.S.-born Mexican adults report their ethnicity/ancestry, revealing a possible link between the intergenerational transmission of Mexican identification and economic status.

Keywords: ancestry; intermarriage; ethnicity; Mexican (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 J15 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2008-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-mig
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Research in Labor Economics, 29, 2009, 31-66

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Related works:
Chapter: Ancestry versus ethnicity: the complexity and selectivity of Mexican identification in the United States (2009)
Working Paper: Ancestry versus Ethnicity: The Complexity and Selectivity of Mexican Identification in the United States (2009)
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