Population and Development Review · 2005 · 252 citations · 46 references
EthnicityHuman MigrationAgricultural EconomicsLatino CultureLabor MigrationAfrican American StudiesFood SystemsEconomic AnalysisLabor Market IntegrationPublic HealthMigration PolicyFood PolicyUs CensusFood DistributionEconomicsPopulation MigrationHispanic Population GrowthRural EmploymentUrban EconomicsBusinessMass ImmigrationHispanic Population IncreaseLabor Market ImpactMigrant WorkerDemographyPopulation MovementImmigration
The diversity of new destinations raises questions about forces attracting migrants to rural areas and links between economic structural change and Hispanic population growth. Our conceptual framework applies dual labor market theory to the meat‑processing industry, using its growing Hispanic labor force as a case study to analyze how labor demand influences demographic change. The study documents the meat‑processing industry's consolidation, concentration, rising demand for low‑skilled labor, and shifting workforce composition over three decades, and models nonmetropolitan Hispanic population growth from 1980 to 2000 as a function of changes in industrial employment share and local economic and demographic indicators. Census data show high Hispanic population growth outside urban centers, and the study finds that meat‑processing employment growth has the strongest positive association with nonmetropolitan Hispanic population growth over two decades, surpassing all other sectors by 2000.
Findings from the 2000 US Census indicate high rates of Hispanic population increase beyond urban areas and traditional immigrant‐receiving states. The diversity of new destinations raises questions about forces attracting migrants to rural areas and links between economic structural change and Hispanic population growth. Our conceptual framework applies dual labor market theory to the meat processing industry, a sector whose growing Hispanic labor force offers an illustrative case study for analyzing how labor demand influences demographic change. We document the industry's consolidation, concentration, increased demand for low‐skilled labor, and changing labor force composition over three decades. We then position meat processing within a broader analysis that models nonmetropolitan county Hispanic population growth between 1980 and 2000 as a function of changes in industrial sector employment share and nonmetro county economic and demographic indicators. We find that growth in meat processing employment exhibits the largest positive coefficient increase in nonmetro Hispanic population growth over two decades and the largest impact of all sectors by 2000.
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How Much Do Immigration and Trade Affect Labor Market Outcomes?
George J. Borjas, Richard B. Freeman, Lawrence F. Katz et al. · Brookings Papers on Economic Activity · 1997 · 877 citations · Full text