Regional Variation in Racial Intermarriage and Group Boundaries

Vincent K. Fu, University of California at Los Angeles

Current assimilation studies examine variation over time in the strength of group boundaries without describing the sources of this variation. This paper examines regional differences in U.S. racial intermarriage to identify sources of variation in the strength of group boundaries. I rely on Blumer's group position framework which locates the hardening of group boundaries in threats to a historically determined sense of the appropriate hierarchical arrangement of groups. Worsening economic conditions and increases in the sizes of minority groups are expected to lead to stronger group boundaries and less intermarriage. This paper uses the one in six Long Form Sample of the 1990 U.S. Census to allow for a high level of detail with respect to the classification of groups. This paper also provides more accurate descriptions of intermarriage patterns by controlling for the population composition of local areas instead of treating the entire U.S. as a single marriage market.