Abstract
Studies about the effects of native and immigrant intermarriage on the human capital of children generally ignore disparate impacts by gender, ethnicity, or other attributes. Using 2000 U.S. Census data, we compare the high school dropout rates of 16–17-year-old children of Asian intermarriages and intra-marriages. We study differences between Asian-father and Asian-mother only families, controlling for observable child, parental and residential characteristics, as well as unobservable selection into intermarriage. Despite the higher average education and income levels of intermarried families, the children of Asian-father-native-mother households have higher dropout rates compared to both Asian intra-married and Asian-mother-native-father households. Children of less-educated fathers do worse, relative to children of less-educated mothers, suggesting the importance of intergenerational paternal transmission of education. Racial self-identity is also important: Children identify as “non-Asian” more often when the mother is native, and their families may under-emphasize education bringing them closer to native levels.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to participants at Georgetown Center for Economic Research Biennial Conference 2015, Stockman Conference at the University of Rochester 2015, seminar participants at Union College for feedback. All remaining errors are our own.
Appendix
Asian Immigrant Mother/Native Father | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Variables | ACS 2009 to 2015 combined | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
Intermarriage | −0.0032 | 0.0030 | −0.0206* | 0.0057 | −0.0016 | 0.0040 | −0.0019 | −0.0134 |
(0.0053) | (0.0140) | (0.0118) | (0.0090) | (0.0058) | (0.0146) | (0.0123) | (0.0087) | |
Observations | 5,331 | 671 | 775 | 700 | 771 | 765 | 839 | 810 |
R2 | 0.0293 | 0.0596 | 0.2970 | 0.1159 | 0.0781 | 0.1133 | 0.3420 | 0.0914 |
Asian Immigrant Father/Native Mother | ||||||||
Variables | ACS 2009 to 2015 combined | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
Intermarriage | 0.0023 | 0.0151 | −0.0147 | −0.0081 | 0.0018 | −0.0181 | 0.0022 | −0.0023 |
(0.0056) | (0.0161) | (0.0148) | (0.0059) | (0.0046) | (0.0114) | (0.0037) | (0.0117) | |
Observations | 5,146 | 684 | 752 | 689 | 728 | 721 | 799 | 773 |
R2 | 0.0411 | 0.1378 | 0.2630 | 0.1020 | 0.1388 | 0.0790 | 0.1289 | 0.1068 |
Notes: Robust standard errors in parentheses.
p <0.1.
p <0.05.
p <0.01.
Data is from the 2009–2015 American Community Surveys. Appropriate population weights were used for the annual estimates. The combined estimate is unweighted. All regressions use the same controls as eq. 1). Column 1 also includes year fixed effects.
Asian Immigrant & Native Spouse | Intra-married | ||
---|---|---|---|
Immigrant Mother | Immigrant Father | Both immigrant | |
Percentage (Teenager) | 21.8 | 12 | 66.2 |
Percentage (Adult) | 29.84 | 15.32 | 54.84 |
Race characteristics | |||
Teenager: Identifies as Asian | 49.08 | 16.67 | 83.53 |
Adult: Identifies as Asian | 49.02 | 40.35 | 80.8 |
Source: Combined Current Population Surveys, 2000.
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