We present new estimates of the outcomes of first-generation Mexicans and their descendants between 1880 and 1940. We find zero convergence of the economic gap between Mexicans and non-Mexican whites across three generations. The great-grandchildren of immigrants also had fewer years of education. Slow convergence is not simply due to an inheritance of poverty; rather, Mexican Americans had worse outcomes conditional on the father’s economic status. However, the gap between third-generation Mexican Americans and non-Mexican whites is about half the size today as it was in 1940, suggesting that barriers to Mexican American progress have significantly decreased over time.

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El Sueño Americano？二战前墨西哥裔美国人的代际进步

我们对 1880 年至 1940 年间第一代墨西哥人及其后代的结果进行了新的估计。我们发现墨西哥人和非墨西哥白人之间的经济差距在三代人之间趋同为零。移民的曾孙受教育年限也较少。缓慢收敛不仅仅是由于贫困的遗传；相反，墨西哥裔美国人的结果更差，这取决于父亲的经济状况。然而，第三代墨西哥裔美国人和非墨西哥裔白人之间的差距现在大约是 1940 年的一半，这表明墨西哥裔美国人进步的障碍随着时间的推移而显着减少。