Marriage Choice and the Economic Assimilation of Hispanic Immigrants

Abstract

In this paper, I analyze how marriage choice influences the wages of Hispanic immigrants in the United States using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Based on both an OLS and a 2SLS regression model, I find an annual marriage premium between $3,000 and $4,000 for immigrants who marry U.S. citizens compared to those who marry other immigrants, suggesting that marriage choice can have a significant impact on one’s ability to perform well in the labor market.