This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. American Economic Review
  4. May 2011
  5. Does Mestizaje Matter in the US? Economic Stratification of Mexican Immigrants

Does Mestizaje Matter in the US? Economic Stratification of Mexican Immigrants

Download Full Text PDF

Abstract

Using data from the 2003 New Immigrant Survey, this paper examines whether stratification as reflected by skin shade exists among newly legalized Mexican immigrants in the US. While we do not find evidence that skin color directly related to employment probabilities, complexion appeared to play a role in the likelihood of owning a home, having a bank account, and occupational status. As these outcomes partly reflect immigrants' pre-migration experiences, our findings suggest that the social stratification structure in Mexico might be sustained in the US among Mexican-origin populations.

Citation

Dávila, Alberto, Marie T. Mora, and Sue K. Stockly. 2011. "Does Mestizaje Matter in the US? Economic Stratification of Mexican Immigrants." American Economic Review, 101 (3): 593-97. DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.3.593

JEL Classification

  • J15 Economics of Minorities and Races; Non-labor Discrimination
  • J71 Labor Discrimination
  • Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Social and Economic Stratification