Earning Patterns of Mexican Workers in the Southern Region: A Focus on Nonmetro/Metro Distinctions
Abstract
The last few years have witnessed a tremendous
change in the geographic location patterns of the Mexican population
in the United States. The rural South represents one of the
areas that have seen a noticeable growth in the Mexican population
over the last few years. Unfortunately, data necessary to examine
the social and economic adjustment of Mexicans in this area are not
available at this time. This analysis uses data from the 1990 Public
Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) to examine the earnings patterns bf
Mexican-origin workers in the South. The sample used to conduct
the analysis includes 9,509 Mexican-origin workers living in the
South. For comparative purposes, the analysis is conducted separately
by gender and nativity status. The results of the analysis
suggest that nonmetro Mexican workers have lower earnings compared
to metro Mexican workers even after control variables are
taken into account. However, the findings show that nonmetro and
metro Mexican workers do not differ significantly on their
economic returns to their human capital endowments. The results
of this study may serve as a benchmark for future studies that use
data from the 2000 decennial census to assess the labor market
experiences of Mexican newcomers to the South.
Department
Demography