Table 1—
EFFECT OF TIME IN UNITED STATES ON NAME FOREIGNNESS BY MOTHER’S CHARACTERISITICS: PAST AND PRESENT
| Dependent variable = foreignness index | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mother is… | ||||
| Literate | Not literate | |||
| Panel A. Historical data (1920 census) | ||||
| Italy | Mom age at birth | −0.318 (0.033) | −0.215 (0.034) | |
| Observations | 405,349 | 307,335 | ||
| Austria | Mom age at birth | −0.697 (0.039) | −0.520 (0.062) | |
| Observations | 259,011 | 83,297 | ||
| Germany | Mom age at birth | −0.307 (0.040) | −0.714 (0.245) | |
| Observations | 257,488 | 5,812 | ||
| Russia | Mom age at birth | −0.909 (0.037) | −0.693 (0.060) | |
| Observations | 447,652 | 132,141 | ||
| Finland | Mom age at birth | −0.574 (0.107) | −1.049 (0.386) | |
| Observations | 48,264 | 4,037 | ||
| Portugal | Mom age at birth | −0.633 (0.187) | −0.724 (0.181) | |
| Observations | 15,845 | 16,442 | ||
| Less than HS (1) | HS grad (2) | Some college (3) | College plus (4) | |
| Panel B. Modern data (California birth certificates) | ||||
| Vietnam | −0.389 (0.319) | −0.393 (0.166) | −0.328 (0.176) | −0.245 (0.138) |
| Observations | 21,296 | 44,331 | 32,784 | 46,190 |
| Mexico | −0.544 (0.035) | −0.455 (0.045) | −0.488 (0.067) | −0.486 (0.106) |
| Observations | 1,397,249 | 625,503 | 270,753 | 121,395 |
| China | −0.768 (0.682) | −0.018 (0.331) | −0.094 (0.067) | −0.072 (0.168) |
| Observations | 10,582 | 25,109 | 25,717 | 98,319 |
Notes: This table reports coefficients from estimates of a modified version of equation (2), a regression of the foreignness index of a child’s name on a linear measure of mother’s age at the time of birth. Regressions include indicators for child’s rank in the birth order, birth year in five-year bands, and mother fixed effects, and are conducted separately by mother’s country of origin and literacy status. Panel A uses complete-count 1920 census data. Panel B uses California birth certificate data (1989–2015). Sample details in note to Figure 1. The six countries included in panel A exhibit assimilation in Figure 2 and have at least 2,000 mother-child observations in each category (literate/not).