Inequality at Work: Hispanics in the U.S. Labor Force

Front Cover
Oxford University Press, 1991 - Business & Economics - 284 pages
This book presents a comprehensive economic analysis of the rapidly growing Hispanic labour force in the U.S. The author evaluates the leading economic theories on immigration and on racial and ethnic inequality in incomes and employment. He then tests these theories empirically with a variety of recent national data sets. Many of the findings throw into question widely held views among the public, academics, and policymakers. The author surveys the evolution of each of the main national-origin subgroups: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Central and South Americans, and other Hispanic Labour forces in the U.S. He finds that the Hispanic disadvantage in income, poverty, and unemployment has remained chronically large and has actually been increasing in recent years. He finds that Hispanics are unusually vulnerable to recessionary downturns in the national economy. His study of the impact of undocumented Hispanic immigration into the U.S. contradicts claims that immigration, either legal or illegal, increases the unemployment or lowers the earnings of American workers.
 

Contents

The Emergence of the Hispanic American Labor Force
10
Income Shares of Families in Mexico 195069
48
Growth and Stagnation in Employment and Earnings
53
Distribution of Hispanic Study Sample by SpanishOrigin Categories
90
Hispanic Unemployment Across the Business Cycle
95
Unemployment Differentials Among SpanishOrigin Groups
130
Definitions of Variables Unemployment Regressions
163
Dimensions and Prospects
167
The Educational Crisis of Hispanic Youth
186
Does Immigration Harm Native Workers?
209
Epilogue
253
Copyright

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 273 - US Bureau of the Census, US Census of Population: 1950, Vol. II, Characteristics of the Population, Part 1, US Summary, Washington 1953.

About the author (1991)

Gregory DeFreitas is at Hofstra University.