Nonmetropolitan minority families in the United States: trends in racial and ethnic economic stratification, 1959-1986

Traces the economic status of nonmetropolitan black, Mexican and American Indian families during the period 1959 to 1986. Analysis of 1960, 1970, 1980, and 1987 US Census Bureau data revealed substantial improvement in the economic status of rural minority families between 1959 and 1979. However, nonmetro black and Mexican family incomes deteriorated substantially in the ensuing seven years. The shift in residence toward urban areas contributed to the 1959-1979 decline in minority poverty. Furthermore, labor market commitment has a greater ameliorative effect on family poverty for all groups than does public assistance. That poverty among nonmetro minorities improved in response to increasing labor supply is a policy-relevant finding discussed in the conclusions. -from Authors