The Political Geography of Wage Inequality and Public Opinion Toward Latinos

• In Event: Immigration and Politics

Abstract

The extant literature on how attitudes towards Latinos are shaped in times of demographic changes is robust (Zarate et al., 2003; Wong and Drake, 2006; Hopkins, 2010). We seek to enter into said conversation by providing novel analyses about how attitudes towards Latinos are shaped in non-traditional Latino destinations such as South Dakota, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and North Dakota, all states that Pew Research recently found to have the fastest growing state Latino populations since 2000. To better understand how opinions are formed, we utilize a unique time series dataset that incorporates state level media reporting, ANES public opinion data, and within-industry wage inequality data via Theil Index, using the years 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. Using a multilevel model, we find supporting evidence that social contact with Latinos in the workplace has the propensity to reduce group anxiety, even when media coverage is negative. We also find evidence that when there are larger income disparities within-industries, coupled with an increasingly negative media environment, that animosity toward Latinos increases. Our findings suggest that social contact may reduce negative sentiment, but that wage inequality within industries is an important determinant.

Authors

• Raul Madrid, Occidental College

• Dong-Wook Lee, Claremont Graduate University