Table 1

Descriptive statistics and differences between the full sample and the matched sample

Full Border RecordMatched SampleDifference
(Full – Matched)a
Mean or %SDMean or %SD
Arrival Age (mean) 29.16 9.468 27.81 8.445 1.35*** 
Complexion (%)     *** 
 Dark 73.4  76.4  −3.0 
 Light 5.9  5.6  0.3 
 Medium 10.8  11.2  −0.4 
 Missing 10.0  6.7  3.3 
Premigration Occupation (%)      
 White collar 13.5  13.6  −0.1 
 Skilled 7.8  8.9  −1.1 
 Farmer 3.6  3.6  0.0 
 Semiskilled 7.7  7.3  0.4 
 Unskilled 56.5  57.1  −0.6 
 Missing 10.9  9.5  1.4 
Marital Status (%)     ** 
 Single 48.3  50.7  −2.4 
 Married 47.1  46.2  0.9 
 Missing 4.5  3.1  1.4 
Literacy (%)     *** 
 No 9.6  8.1  1.5 
 Yes 85.4  88.5  −3.1 
 Missing 5.0  3.5  1.5 
Previous U.S. Trip (%)     *** 
 No 41.8  41.9  −0.1 
 Yes 53.8  55.4  −1.6 
 Missing 4.4  2.7  1.7 
Arrival Status (%)     *** 
 Alone 63.7  67.9  −4.2 
 With others 21.8  21.9  −0.1 
 Missing 14.5  10.2  4.3 
Height (mean, in cm) 168.805 6.289 168.78 6.664 0.025 
Decade of Arrival (%)     *** 
 1910–1920 30.3  24.0  6.3 
 1921–1930 49.6  52.9  −3.3 
 1931–1940 20.1  23.0  −2.9 
Region of Birth (%)     *** 
 North 40.7  41.5  −0.8 
 Center-West 41.8  45.3  −3.5 
 Center and South 6.5  5.9  0.6 
 Missing 11.1  7.3  3.8 
Port of Entry (%)      
 Brownsville (TX) 3.9  3.8  0.1 
 Calexico (CA) 5.1  5.3  −0.2 
 Columbus (NM) 0.1  0.1  0.0 
 Del Rio (TX) 1.7  1.8  −0.1 
 Douglas (AZ) 2.7  2.4  0.3 
 Eagle Pass (TX) 7.9  8.1  −0.2 
 El Paso (TX) 27.0  28.5  −1.5 
 Hidalgo (TX) 1.0  1.2  −0.2 
 Laredo (TX) 31.4  30.2  1.2 
 Naco (AZ) 2.8  2.9  −0.1 
 Nogales (AZ) 12.0  11.8  0.2 
 Rio Grande City (TX) 0.5  0.6  −0.1 
 San Ysidro (CA) 3.7  3.4  0.3 
N 11,260  2,832   
Full Border RecordMatched SampleDifference
(Full – Matched)a
Mean or %SDMean or %SD
Arrival Age (mean) 29.16 9.468 27.81 8.445 1.35*** 
Complexion (%)     *** 
 Dark 73.4  76.4  −3.0 
 Light 5.9  5.6  0.3 
 Medium 10.8  11.2  −0.4 
 Missing 10.0  6.7  3.3 
Premigration Occupation (%)      
 White collar 13.5  13.6  −0.1 
 Skilled 7.8  8.9  −1.1 
 Farmer 3.6  3.6  0.0 
 Semiskilled 7.7  7.3  0.4 
 Unskilled 56.5  57.1  −0.6 
 Missing 10.9  9.5  1.4 
Marital Status (%)     ** 
 Single 48.3  50.7  −2.4 
 Married 47.1  46.2  0.9 
 Missing 4.5  3.1  1.4 
Literacy (%)     *** 
 No 9.6  8.1  1.5 
 Yes 85.4  88.5  −3.1 
 Missing 5.0  3.5  1.5 
Previous U.S. Trip (%)     *** 
 No 41.8  41.9  −0.1 
 Yes 53.8  55.4  −1.6 
 Missing 4.4  2.7  1.7 
Arrival Status (%)     *** 
 Alone 63.7  67.9  −4.2 
 With others 21.8  21.9  −0.1 
 Missing 14.5  10.2  4.3 
Height (mean, in cm) 168.805 6.289 168.78 6.664 0.025 
Decade of Arrival (%)     *** 
 1910–1920 30.3  24.0  6.3 
 1921–1930 49.6  52.9  −3.3 
 1931–1940 20.1  23.0  −2.9 
Region of Birth (%)     *** 
 North 40.7  41.5  −0.8 
 Center-West 41.8  45.3  −3.5 
 Center and South 6.5  5.9  0.6 
 Missing 11.1  7.3  3.8 
Port of Entry (%)      
 Brownsville (TX) 3.9  3.8  0.1 
 Calexico (CA) 5.1  5.3  −0.2 
 Columbus (NM) 0.1  0.1  0.0 
 Del Rio (TX) 1.7  1.8  −0.1 
 Douglas (AZ) 2.7  2.4  0.3 
 Eagle Pass (TX) 7.9  8.1  −0.2 
 El Paso (TX) 27.0  28.5  −1.5 
 Hidalgo (TX) 1.0  1.2  −0.2 
 Laredo (TX) 31.4  30.2  1.2 
 Naco (AZ) 2.8  2.9  −0.1 
 Nogales (AZ) 12.0  11.8  0.2 
 Rio Grande City (TX) 0.5  0.6  −0.1 
 San Ysidro (CA) 3.7  3.4  0.3 
N 11,260  2,832   

Notes: Each sample is limited to Mexican-born men who arrived at ages 14–55. The full border sample refers to the records before matching, and the matched sample refers to those we could link to the 1940 census. The sample size for height is 9,711 in the full sample but 2,535 in the matched sample because of missing information.

a Continuous variables: pooled t test. Categorical variables: Pearson test.

**p < .01; ***p < .001

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