IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cen/wpaper/18-45.html

Factors that Influence Change in Hispanic Identification: Evidence from Linked Decennial Census and American Community Survey Data

Author

Listed:
  • Leticia Fernández
  • Sonya R. Porter
  • Sharon R. Ennis
  • Renuka Bhaskar

Abstract

This study explores patterns of ethnic boundary crossing as evidenced by changes in Hispanic origin responses across decennial census and survey data. We identify socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic factors associated with Hispanic response change. In addition, we assess whether changes in the Hispanic origin question between the 2000 and 2010 censuses influenced changes in Hispanic reporting. We use a unique large dataset that links a person’s unedited responses to the Hispanic origin question across Census 2000, the 2010 Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey five-year file. We find that most of the individuals in the sample identified consistently as Hispanic regardless of changes in the wording of the Hispanic origin question. Individuals who changed in or out of a Hispanic identification, as well as those who consistently identified as non-Hispanic (of Hispanic ancestry), differed in socioeconomic and cultural characteristics from individuals who consistently reported as Hispanic. The likelihood of changing their Hispanic origin response is higher among U.S.-born individuals, those reporting mixed Hispanic and non-Hispanic ancestries, those who speak only English at home, and those who live in tracts that are predominantly non-Hispanic. Racial identification and detailed Hispanic background also influence changes in Hispanic origin responses. Finally, changes in mode and relationship to the reference person in the household are associated with changes in Hispanic origin responses, suggesting that data collection elements also can influence Hispanic origin response change.

Suggested Citation

  • Leticia Fernández & Sonya R. Porter & Sharon R. Ennis & Renuka Bhaskar, 2018. "Factors that Influence Change in Hispanic Identification: Evidence from Linked Decennial Census and American Community Survey Data," Working Papers 18-45, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:18-45
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www2.census.gov/ces/wp/2018/CES-WP-18-45.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2018
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2011. "Intermarriage and the Intergenerational Transmission of Ethnic Identity and Human Capital for Mexican Americans," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(2), pages 195-227.
    2. Brittany Bond & J. David Brown & Adela Luque & Amy O’Hara, 2014. "The Nature of the Bias When Studying Only Linkable Person Records: Evidence from the American Community Survey," CARRA Working Papers 2014-08, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    3. Deborah Wagner & Mary Lane, 2014. "The Person Identification Validation System (PVS): Applying the Center for Administrative Records Research and Applications’ (CARRA) Record Linkage Software," CARRA Working Papers 2014-01, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    4. Nathan Glazer, 1993. "Is Assimilation Dead?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 530(1), pages 122-136, November.
    5. Mary Layne & Deborah Wagner & Cynthia Rothhaas, 2014. "Estimating Record Linkage False Match Rate for the Person Identification Validation System," CARRA Working Papers 2014-02, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2017. "The Complexity of Immigrant Generations: Implications for Assessing the Socioeconomic Integration of Hispanics and Asians," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 70(5), pages 1146-1175, October.
    7. Charles Hirschman, 2001. "The educational enrollment of immigrant youth: A test of the segmented-assimilation hypothesis," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(3), pages 317-336, August.
    8. Carolyn A. Liebler & Sonya R. Porter & Leticia E. Fernandez & James M. Noon & Sharon R. Ennis, 2017. "America’s Churning Races: Race and Ethnicity Response Changes Between Census 2000 and the 2010 Census," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 259-284, February.
    9. Richard Alba & Tariqul Islam, 2009. "The Case of the Disappearing Mexican Americans: An Ethnic-Identity Mystery," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 28(2), pages 109-121, April.
    10. J. Scott Brown & Steven Hitlin & Glen H. Elder, 2006. "The Greater Complexity of Lived Race: An Extension of Harris and Sim," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 87(2), pages 411-431, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Robert Dominy III & Samuel Glick & Joyce Hahn & Katlyn King & MariTere Molinet & JJ Naddeo & Margaret Sabelhous & Aaron Weinstock, 2026. "Integrating Multiple U.S. Census Bureau Data Assets to Create Standardized Profiles of Program Participants," Working Papers 26-01, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2025. "Which Mexicans Are White? Enumerator-Assigned Race in the 1930 Census and the Socioeconomic Integration of Mexican Americans," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 78(1), pages 62-85, January.
    2. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2011. "Intermarriage and the Intergenerational Transmission of Ethnic Identity and Human Capital for Mexican Americans," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(2), pages 195-227.
    3. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2018. "Identifying the Later-Generation Descendants of U.S. Immigrants: Issues Arising from Selective Ethnic Attrition," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 677(1), pages 131-138, May.
    4. Carolyn A. Liebler & Sonya R. Porter & Leticia E. Fernandez & James M. Noon & Sharon R. Ennis, 2017. "America’s Churning Races: Race and Ethnicity Response Changes Between Census 2000 and the 2010 Census," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 259-284, February.
    5. Delia Furtado & Stephen J. Trejo, 2013. "Interethnic marriages and their economic effects," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 15, pages 276-292, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Oded Galor & Omer Ozak & Assaf Sarid, 2016. "Origins and Consequences of Lanquage Structures," Working Papers 2016-7, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    7. Zhu, Maria, 2024. "New evidence on the underrepresentation of Asian Americans in leadership positions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    8. Oded Galor & Ömer Özak & Assaf Sarid, 2020. "Linguistic Traits and Human Capital Formation," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 110, pages 309-313, May.
    9. Raj Chetty & John N. Friedman & Nathaniel Hendren & Maggie R. Jones & Sonya R. Porter, 2018. "The Opportunity Atlas: Mapping the Childhood Roots of Social Mobility," Working Papers 18-42, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    10. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2017. "The Complexity of Immigrant Generations: Implications for Assessing the Socioeconomic Integration of Hispanics and Asians," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 70(5), pages 1146-1175, October.
    11. Nicholas Jones & Eric Jensen & Karen Battle & Rachel Marks, 2024. "Measuring the Racial and Ethnic Composition and Diversity of the US Population: Historical Challenges and Contemporary Opportunities," NBER Chapters, in: Race, Ethnicity, and Economic Statistics for the 21st Century, pages 19-55, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Duncan, Brian & Grogger, Jeffrey & Leon, Ana Sofia & Trejo, Stephen J., 2020. "New evidence of generational progress for Mexican Americans," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    13. Leah R. Clark & Renuka Bhaskar, 2025. "Potential Bias When Using Administrative Data to Measure the Family Income of School-Aged Children," Working Papers 25-03, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    14. Jenifer L. Bratter, 2018. "Multiracial Identification and Racial Gaps: A Work in Progress," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 677(1), pages 69-80, May.
    15. Robert Dominy III & Samuel Glick & Joyce Hahn & Katlyn King & MariTere Molinet & JJ Naddeo & Margaret Sabelhous & Aaron Weinstock, 2026. "Integrating Multiple U.S. Census Bureau Data Assets to Create Standardized Profiles of Program Participants," Working Papers 26-01, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    16. Francisca M. Antman & Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2023. "Hispanic Americans in the Labor Market: Patterns over Time and across Generations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 169-198, Winter.
    17. Meyer, Bruce D. & Wyse, Angela & Corinth, Kevin, 2023. "The size and Census coverage of the U.S. homeless population," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    18. Francisca M. Antman & Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2020. "Ethnic attrition, assimilation, and the measured health outcomes of Mexican Americans," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 1499-1522, October.
    19. Francisca M Antman & Brian Duncan, 2023. "American Indian Casinos and Native American Self-Identification," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 21(6), pages 2547-2585.
    20. Kyle Raze & Nicole Perales & Liana Christin Landivar, 2026. "Non-Random Assignment of Individual Identifiers and Selection into Linked Data: Implications for Research," Working Papers 26-06, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:18-45. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dawn Anderson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.