Race and Place Differentials of Poverty and Their Determinants: A Comparative Analysis of Poverty in the Texas Borderland and the Lower Mississippi Delta

Dudley L. Poston, Jr., Texas A&M University
Rogelio Saenz, Texas A&M University
Joachim Singelmann, Louisiana State University
Tim Slack, Louisiana State University

This paper analyzes poverty among race/ethnic groups in the Texas Borderland and the Lower Mississippi Delta, the two poorest regions in the United States. Its objectives are (1) to develop a comparative model to determine how the patterns of poverty differ between the Borderland and the Delta; and (2) to investigate differences in the mechanisms that influence poverty rates across race and ethnicity in these regions. The paper presents a model that includes various indicators of economic structure, family structure, demographic structure, and human capital. Using 2000 census data, the paper models the correlates of poverty for non-Hispanic whites, Latinos, and blacks. Results show that the race/ethnic poverty differential is especially high in the core part of the two regions and related to the relative presence of minority populations. There also exist substantial differences across race/ethnic groups in the effects of structural factors.