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Abstract
I study the determinants of the choice to identify as Hispanic among those who could—those whose parents, grandparents, or selves were born in a Spanish-speaking country. I find that individuals with Hispanic ancestry are significantly less likely to self-identify as Hispanic if they live in states with high levels of bias. A one standard deviation increase in bias decreases self-reported Hispanic identity by 4 percentage points among all Hispanics. These effects are more prominent among second-generation immigrants with both parents born in a Spanish-speaking country than among children of inter-ethnic parents. These findings have implications for the interpretation of research on ethnic gaps in economic outcomes and the correct counting of the population.
Citation
Hadah, Hussain, The Effect of Racial and Ethnic Attitudes on Hispanic Identity in the U.S. (December 09, 2024). Available at https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12749
@article{hadah2024hispanicidentity,
author = {Hadah, Hussain},
title = {The effect of racial and ethnic attitudes on Hispanic identity in the United States},
journal = {Southern Economic Journal},
volume = {n/a},
number = {n/a},
pages = {},
keywords = {Economics of Minorities, Race, and Immigrants, Discrimination and Prejudice, Stratification Economics},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12749},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/soej.12749},
eprint = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/soej.12749},
abstract = {Abstract I study the determinants of choosing to identify as Hispanic among individuals who are eligible—those whose parents, grandparents, or themselves were born in a Spanish-speaking country. Using a multiple proxy regression approach, I construct a bias measure based on the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and the American National Election Studies (ANES). I find that individuals with Hispanic ancestry are significantly less likely to self-identify as Hispanic if they reside in states with high levels of bias. A one standard deviation increase in bias reduces self-reported Hispanic identity by 4 percentage points among all Hispanics. These effects are more pronounced among second-generation immigrants with both parents born in a Spanish-speaking country compared to children of inter-ethnic parents. These findings have implications for interpreting research on ethnic gaps in economic outcomes and for accurately counting the population.}
}