Research Description

Structure of Wages Among Hispanics and Non-Hispanics in Miami-Dade County

Throughout recent decades, the effects of immigration and structural changes have shaped Miami-Dade County dramatically. Utilizing the U.S. Bureau of the Census, I will gather an overview of the socio-economic conditions of Miami-Dade County to further understand the current income and income distribution patterns.

According to the Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning, among the 776 U.S. counties for which comparable date is available, Miami-Dade ranked highest in the percent of people who are foreign born with a rate of 50.3 percent. In addition, the Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning lists educational attainment and family structure as the two factors most closely associated with the current income distribution patterns. The lack of a male head present in families is a disadvantage that afflicts all Hispanic groups, except the Cubans to some degree (Reimers, 1984). Reimers (1984) shows that Cuban families are as likely as white non-Hispanics to have a male-head present, but like the Puerto Ricans, Cuban male heads are somewhat less likely to work than non-Hispanics. Hourly earnings are a major reason for the shortfall in every Hispanic group, as Hispanic men of every group are employed a smaller fraction of the weeks worked during the year. Cuban males’ earnings fall below that of white non-Hispanics because their earnings per worker average only 84 percent of white non-Hispanics (Reimers, 1984). Furthermore, if Cuban male workers earning as much as white non-Hispanics, their family income ratio would jump from .83 to .92 (Reimers, 1984).

Frisbie and Neidert (1971) argue that the relative size of minority populations in U.S. labor markets explain the income inequality among black, Hispanic, Asian, and white men. In the face of increasing minority concentration in metropolitan areas, such as Miami-Dade County, we still see the issue of the income discrepancies among differing races. Evidence presented by Frisbie and Neidert reveals that, holding education constant, minorities lose financially from the labor-market concentration of minorities, while non-Hispanic whites benefit. Further research shows that within the highest educational stratum, whites benefited significantly more than each racial/ethnic group for each percentage point increase in the minority composition of their labor market, revealing an alarming disparity in income.

Minority workers such as Hispanics, tend to gravitate towards segregated, lower-wage positions that offer limited opportunities in labor markets. According to Falcon and Melendez, job search strategies play a key role in determining wages and benefit levels. Falcon and Melendez argue that whites have an advantage over minorities when employing informal mechanisms in job searches. When minorities rely on informal mechanisms, they often find jobs through relatives and close friends that are low-wage, while whites gain employment through distant contacts thus resulting in better wages (Hertz, Tilly and Massagli).

Stereotypes also structure neighborhood racial-composition preferences. Research suggests that minority groups have a strong preference for ethnically homogeneous neighborhoods (Wilson and Hammer) For minorities, this tends to result in low neighborhood socioeconomic status, housing quality, and relatively limited proximity to jobs. According to Falcon and Melendez, for whites, it brings the opposite—higher status and better housing and services.

Americans are spending more hours at work relative to workers in other high-income countries. Longer work hours results in less time spent with family and less time for leisure. While Hispanics and non-Hispanics work a comparable amount of weeks, non-Hispanics work on average two more hours per week. I will be studying abroad in Paris, France for the Fall 2008 semester to gain a cross-national perspective on the correlation between paid work hours and the value of time use during non-employment hours. This research will highlight the importance of time studies to understand the correlation of how leisure time ranks in importance for Hispanics and non-Hispanic in Miami-Dade County, and workers in other industrialized countries.