Does Immigration, Particularly Increases in Latinos, Affect African American Wages, Unemployment and Incarceration Rates?

42 Pages Posted: 11 Dec 2012 Last revised: 3 Mar 2013

See all articles by Jack Strauss

Jack Strauss

University of Denver - Daniels College of Business

Date Written: December 8, 2012

Abstract

This paper evaluates the impact of immigration on African American wages, unemployment, employment and incarceration rates using a relatively large cross-sectional data-set of 900 cities. An endemic problem potentially plaguing the cross-sectional metro approach to immigration has been endogeneity. Does increased immigration to a city lead to improved economic outcomes, or does a city's improving labor market attract immigrant inflows? The paper focuses on resolving the endogeneity concerns through a variety of controls, statistical methods and tests. Overall, results strongly support one-way causation from increased immigration including Latinos to higher African American wages and lower poverty. Rising immigration including from Latin America is not responsible for higher Black incarceration rates.

Keywords: immigration, African American, wages

JEL Classification: J15, J61, R23, J1, K42

Suggested Citation

Strauss, Jack, Does Immigration, Particularly Increases in Latinos, Affect African American Wages, Unemployment and Incarceration Rates? (December 8, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2186978 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2186978

Jack Strauss (Contact Author)

University of Denver - Daniels College of Business ( email )

2101 S. University Blvd.
Denver, CO 80208
United States

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