West Indian Prosperity: Fact or Fiction?

Abstract

Both scholars and the public often express the opinion that, in the United States, West Indian Blacks are more economically successful than African Americans. This paper explores two dimensions of this hypothesis, labor force participation and earnings, for residents of the New York SMSA in 1970, 1980, and 1990. The outcomes of West Indian men and women, both foreign and native born, are compared to African American men and women. The results show West Indians typically have higher labor force participation, but earnings display a more complex pattern. Other things equal, the earnings of the foreign born surpass African American earnings only after the immigrants have spent some years in the United States, while the earnings of nativeborn West Indians are usually higher than those of native Blacks. These results are most consonant with the theory that immigrants are a positively selected population.