MIGRATION AND THE EARNINGS OF HISPANIC MEN

We investigate the relationship between geographic mobility and the earnings of Hispanic men and white men using the 1980 Public Use Sample. Migration status and labor force participation status are treated as joint selection processes and are incorporated into the earnings models. Despite the distinctive social and residential profiles of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban men, results show that residence in a concentrated ethnic area deters migration for all groups, even though they experience modest earnings penalties. Residence in a concentrated ethnic area is not related to labor force participation. The earnings returns to migration are negligible, at least over the short term. Because much research on the Hispanic population has documented differences according to national origin, it is noteworthy that our finding shows similar effects of residence in concentrated ethnic areas on migration probabilities and only trivial effects of migration on earnings for all groups. However, consistent with prior research on economic inequality, the effects of residence in an area of ethnic concentration and area wage rates on earnings differed among Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans.