òòò½Íø Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Immigrant Age at Arrival and the Intergenerational Transmission of Ethnic Identification among Mexican Americans
òòò½Íø Papers and Proceedings
vol. 115,
May 2025
(pp. 451–56)
Abstract
Analyzing microdata from the 2000 US census and the 2001–2019 American Community Surveys, we show that the age at arrival of Mexican immigrants exerts an important influence on ethnic identification not only for these immigrants but also for their US-born children. Among Mexican immigrants who arrived as children, the rate of "ethnic attrition"—or not self-identifying as Hispanic—is higher for those who migrated at a younger age. Moreover, the children of these immigrants exhibit a similar pattern: greater ethnic attrition among children whose parents moved to the United States at a younger age. Intermarriage is a key mechanism.Citation
Duncan, Brian, and Stephen J. Trejo. 2025. "Immigrant Age at Arrival and the Intergenerational Transmission of Ethnic Identification among Mexican Americans." òòò½Íø Papers and Proceedings 115: 451–56. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20251125Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification