Culture, Human Capital, and the Earnings of West Indian Blacks

This paper offers an empirical analysis of West Indians\u27 performance in the U.S. labor market, drawing adjusted comparisons between the earnings of native-born black American men of West Indian ancestry and the earnings of other native-born men, both black and white. The data required for these comparisons come from the 1980 Census of Population, in which native-born respondents reported their ancestry. The results offer a mixed picture of the success of West Indians, suggesting that native-born blacks of West Indian ancestry do have somewhat higher earnings than other native-born blacks, other things equal. Nevertheless, there is still a large earnings gap between native-born blacks of West Indian ancestry and native-born whites that cannot be explained by observable characteristics