The Earnings of U.S. The Earnings of U.S. and Foreign Born and Foreign Born Hispanic FacultyHispanic Faculty

Mark Hugo Lopez University of Maryland

and Marie T. Mora

University of Texas – Pan American

July 2006

The Earnings of U.S. The Earnings of U.S. and Foreign-Born and Foreign-Born Hispanic FacultyHispanic Faculty

In July 2003, Hispanics represented 13.7% of the U.S. population, up from 12.6% in 2000 and 9.8% in 1993

Over 493k Hispanics between the ages of 18-21 were enrolled in a postsecondary institution in 1999, but by 2002, this number had risen to 663k – a 34% increase

The Earnings of U.S. The Earnings of U.S. and Foreign-Born and Foreign-Born Hispanic FacultyHispanic Faculty

If postsecondary institutions attempt to reflect the student body, the growing Hispanic student population suggests that the relative demand for Hispanic faculty has been increasing

At the same time, the share of Hispanics among college and university faculty has also been rising

02

46

8P

erce

nt o

f F

acul

ty

1920 1940 1960 1980 2000Year

Asian Hispanic

Black

 

Figure 1 

Representation of Specific Minority Groups among College Professors and Instructors in the U.S.: 1920 - 2000

  Source: Authors’ tabulations using the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) provided by Ruggles and Sobek (2005). The sample contains individuals between the ages of 21 and 79. Before 1960, Hispanics are identified on the basis of Spanish surname; the percent of Hispanic faculty in 1960 and 1970 is not reported here because the Spanish-surname information is only provided for individuals in five states for those years.

12

34

5P

erce

nt o

f F

acul

ty

1980 1990 2000Year

US-born Hispanic Hispanic

Foreign-born Hispanic

Figure 2 

Representation of US- and Foreign-Born Hispanics among College

Professors and Instructors in the U.S.: 1980 - 2000

  Source: Authors’ tabulations using the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) provided by Ruggles and Sobek (2005). The

sample contains individuals between the ages of 21 and 79.

Goals of the StudyGoals of the Study

Few studies have empirically analyzed the earnings of Hispanic faculty in U.S. postsecondary institutions

Some studies include variables identifying “Hispanics” but this group is not the focus

Goals of the StudyGoals of the Study

Here, we analyze the academic earnings of U.S. born and foreign-born Hispanics relative to non-Hispanic white faculty members in postsecondary institutions.

We also consider whether academic earnings differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites are sensitive to academic rank and tenure-track status

Data and Data and DescriptionDescription

NCES’ National Study of Postsecondary Faculty of 1999 (NSOPF)

Nationally representative sample of over 18,000 faulty & staff members in Fall 1998

Contains detailed productivity information (number of refereed publications, patents, teaching loads), all self-reported

Sample SelectionSample SelectionWe limit the analysis to

faculty members who report:

Number of years in their current academic position

Academic year salaryAcademic institutional

financial support beyond the academic year salary

Total income, including consulting income

Resulting Sample Size: 15,588

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics - Salary- Salary

$110,676

$54,343

$50,501

$85,145

$39,367

$37,112

$95,806

$44,296

$41,546

$94,945

$44,591

$42,034

$88,537

$38,275

$36,192

$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Total Income

AcademicSalary plusInst. Sup.

AcademicYear Salary

Asian NH Black NH

White NH For. Born Hispanic

U.S. Born Hispanic

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics – Professorial Rank– Professorial Rank

20.5%

12.9%

24.4%

20.0%

16.1%

19.8%

17.9%

17.2%

17.6%

9.7%

27.9%

23.4%

16.0%

20.2%

13.6%

25.0%

41.2%

38.4%

36.5%

56.6%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Asian NH

Black NH

White NH

For. BornHispanic

U.S. BornHispanic

Professor Associate Assistant Lower Rank

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics Tenure StatusTenure Status

35.5%

30.0%

35.7%

35.9%

28.2%

21.1%

16.5%

11.1%

14.5%

14.2%

35.5%

44.4%

41.6%

42.4%

43.7%

7.9%

9.2%

11.6%

7.3%

13.9%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Asian NH

Black NH

White NH

For. BornHispanic

U.S. BornHispanic

Tenured Tenure Track

Not on Tenure Track No Tenure Track System

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics

Research Research ProductivityProductivity

2.2

5.4

19.0

2.4

4.6

5.1

2.5

7.3

12.4

2.1

6.7

14.1

3.3

6.6

6.5

0 5 10 15 20

Books

Non-Refereed

Refereed

Asian NH Black NH

White NH For. Born Hispanic

U.S. Born Hispanic

Descriptive StatisticsDescriptive StatisticsTeaching Load Teaching Load

Fall 1998Fall 1998

1.5

2.8

0.4

0.9

3.3

1.4

1.3

2.8

1.1

1.0

2.9

1.2

0.9

3.3

1.5

0 1 2 3 4

# of GraduateCommittees

# of CourseSections

# of Courses

Asian NH Black NH

White NH For. Born Hispanic

U.S. Born Hispanic

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics

Institution TypeInstitution Type Fall 1998 Fall 1998

69.1%

50.1%

58.8%

62.9%

48.2%

14.6%

32.0%

25.1%

27.0%

43.8%

11.7%

6.9%

9.1%

5.5%

5.0%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Asian NH

Black NH

White NH

For. BornHispanic

U.S. BornHispanic

University College

Liberal Arts College 2-Year College

Other

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics

Highest DegreeHighest Degree

21.0%

2.3%

61.0%

20.5%

7.6%

36.3%

16.5%

4.8%

42.6%

25.7%

7.4%

48.1%

27.0%

9.5%

35.5%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Recent Hire(within last 5

years)

WorkingToward Ph.D.

Ph.D.

Asian NH Black NH

White NH For. Born Hispanic

U.S. Born Hispanic

Empirical Empirical Strategy Strategy

We estimate a series of standard earnings functions

Ln(Academic Earnings) = f(Ethnicity/Race, Rank, Research Productivity, Other)

Ln(Academic Earnings) is the natural logarithm of the nine-month academic salary

We estimate this for the full sample, and for sub-groups of the sample

Full Model Full Model ResultsResults

Once controls for Rank are included in the model, U.S. born Hispanics are earning 18% more than their White non-Hispanic counterparts

With a full set of controls, U.S. born Hispanics earn 13% more than their white counterparts

Full Model Full Model Results forResults for

Sub-Groups Sub-GroupsWe examine the U.S. Born

Hispanic earnings differential for the following sub-groups:

Professorial Rank (Full Professor, Associate Professor, etc)

Tenure StatusWhether or not a Recent

Hire

Sub Group Sub Group ResultsResults

U.S. born Hispanic positive earnings differential relative to White non-Hispanics exists among:

Full Professors and Lower Rank Professors (16.3% and 16.7% respectively)

Non-tenure track faculty (16.8%)

Recently Hired Faculty (30.4%)

Results for Ethnic Results for Ethnic Sub-GroupsSub-Groups

For all groups, lower rank faculty members earn substantially less than their Full Professor counterparts, though among Hispanics, this penalty is smaller.

For Black non-Hispanics, there is a compression of earnings across rank

The return to additional publications is strongest for Hispanic faculty, and weakest for Asian non-Hispanic faculty

Wage Decomposition Wage Decomposition

ResultsResults

We next use a wage-decomposition technique to further analyze Hispanic earnings vis-à-vis non-Hispanic whites:

(2) Ln(Earnings)W = f W(Rank W, Tenure W, Research W, Other W)

and

(3) Ln(Earnings)H| W –

Ln(Earnings) H| W

Summary and Summary and Concluding RemarksConcluding Remarks

Our empirical findings based on 1999 NSOPF data indicate the U.S. born Hispanic faculty earn significantly more than their otherwise similar counterparts in postsecondary institutions

However, simple-partitioned analysis and wage-decomposition results show that this premium exists below the assistant professor level and in the non-tenure track positions

Summary and Summary and Concluding RemarksConcluding Remarks

For tenure-track faculty at the assistant professor level or above, the academic earnings of U.S.-born Hispanic faculty do not statistically differ from those of their peers, ceteris paribus

We have explored a partition of the sample into faculty in 4 year institutions and 2 year institutions

Questions for Questions for Future ResearchFuture Research

To what extent do schools engage in policies to support minority faculty in the transition from non-tenure-track to tenure-track positions?

Why are U.S. born Hispanics over-represented in non-tenure track positions and in ranks below the assistant professor level?

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics

Years Since DegreeYears Since Degree

14.0

14.8

17.3

13.3

13.7

0 5 10 15 20

Years SinceDegree

Asian NH Black NH

White NH For. Born Hispanic

U.S. Born Hispanic

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics

Subject Area of Subject Area of Highest DegreeHighest Degree

6.9%

13.3%

10.2%

8.1%

10.1%

14.8%

18.7%

23.5%

33.3%

31.1%

39.4%

15.6%

20.5%

24.2%

17.6%

34.6%

46.6%

40.1%

30.1%

37.4%

2.0%

4.9%

4.1%

0.8%

3.4%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Asian NH

Black NH

White NH

For. BornHispanic

U.S. BornHispanic

Social Sciences Humanities

Physical Sciences Professional Area

Other

Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics

DemographicsDemographics

26.5%

20.7%

38.3%

11.3%

84.2%

49.0%

21.0%

92.2%

40.1%

24.9%

0.0%

38.4%

18.2%

100.0%

41.3%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Spouse inHigher Ed

Born in U.S.

Female

Asian NH Black NH

White NH For. Born Hispanic

U.S. Born Hispanic