SSM - Population Health · 2016 · 32 citations · 20 references
Public HealthDemographyPopulation Health SciencesPopulation HealthPopulation StudiesSocial DemographyBirth Outcomes EpidemiologyDemographic AnalysisImmigrant HealthLatino Health StudiesLow Birth Weight EpidemiologyPopulation Health MeasurementBirth Outcome DisparitiesHealth Outcomes By EthnicityImmigrant Health DisparitiesImmigration DemographicsLatino Health DisparitiesLinear ModelsLinkage Of Birth RecordsLow Birth Weight Disparities
The study investigates birth weight differences among second‑ and third‑generation Hispanics in California and Florida. Using linked birth records from 1970–2009 and linear probability models with extensive socio‑demographic controls, the authors analyze generational trends and country‑of‑origin effects. Second‑generation Mexican and Cuban children have higher birth weights than US‑born white children, Puerto Rican children fare worse, and the advantage largely disappears by the third generation, though third‑generation Mexicans retain some benefit.
This study examines the birth weight of second and third-generation Hispanics born in California and Florida, two of the major immigrant destination states in the US. I exploit a unique dataset of linked birth records for two generations of children born in California and Florida (1970–2009) and linear probability models to investigate the generational decline in the birth outcomes of Hispanics in the US. The data allow using an extensive set of socio-demographic controls and breaking down the results by country of origin. Second-generation children of Mexican and Cuban origin have better birth outcomes than children of US-born white women. Children of Puerto Rican origin have instead worse birth outcomes. The advantage observed among second-generation Hispanics erodes substantially in the third generation but third-generation Mexicans retain some of it.
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