Latinos and the American Pie: Can Latinos Achieve Economic Parity?

Abstract

This article critically reviews trends in Latino economic and social inequality to clarify why Latinos appear to have benefited less from economic recovery than either Whites or Blacks. Existing studies provide clues but little conclusive evidence about the mechanisms undergirding the erosion of Latinos' relative economic standing because of (a) the stagnation of Latino research in a highly static and descriptive mode; (b) the inability of researchers to sort structural and individual mechanisms driving trends in inequality; and (c) a continued reliance on national or regional averages to portray changes in socioeconomic well-being of an evermore heterogeneous population. "Firstgeneration" studies were valuable in generating hypotheses about whether, how, and why the processes of stratification differ among Latinos. Using examples about labor market dynamics, the author illustrates opportunities for developing a "second generation" research agenda geared to refining hypotheses and formulating explanations about rising inequality among Latinos.

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