The effect of racial and ethnic attitudes on Hispanic identity in the United States

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.