Does it Really Matter How Different We Are? Ancestry Distances and Income in the United States

Rueda, Valeria

Abstract

Do ancestry differences at the local level have persistent effects on economic success inside the United States? Using data from the American Community Survey, and genetic and cultural measures of ancestry distance from the recent literature, this article shows that the impact on income of ancestry distance at the regional level is small in magnitude and depends on the measure chosen. Our estimates capture the effect of the intensive margin of diversity (“how different we are") on income, conditional on observed extensive margins of diversity (“how many groups are present"). The heterogeneity in the results also holds when focusing only on groups of first-generation migrants and when considering alternative specifications. This “null-result" suggests that on average, the cultural difference between migration origins does not appear to be a persistent nor a robust predictor of economic success.

Citation

Rueda, V. (2023). Does it Really Matter How Different We Are? Ancestry Distances and Income in the United States. In R. Sauer (Ed.), World Scientific Handbook of Global Migration : Volume 3: Types of Migrants and Economies: A Global Perspective. World Scientific

• Acceptance Date: Sep 17, 2019
• Publication Date: 2023-09
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2019
• Publisher: World Scientific Publishing
• Book Title: World Scientific Handbook of Global Migration : Volume 3: Types of Migrants and Economies: A Global Perspective
• ISBN: 978-981-124-793-4
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2741757
• Publisher URL: https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/12577-vol3#t=aboutBook