- Email: [email protected]
Special section: Native Americans: Then and now
The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Vol. 37, No. 4, Fall 1997, pages 745-746 Copyright 0 1997 Trustees of the University of Illinois All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN 1062-9769
Focus
Special Section: Native Americans: Then and Now
BARRY R. CHISWICK University
of Illinois
at Chicago
INTRODUCTION The literature on the economics of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States contains very few studies on the people referred to as Native Americans, American Indians or Indigenous Americans. Moreover, there is a tendency in the media and among the general populace to view Native Americans as a homogenous group. Yet, a closer examination reveals the variety of tribal origins, customs, languages spoken, and mixed racial/ethnic ancestries with nonNative American groups. The latter issue raises questions about the difficulties in defining who is of Native American origin. The four articles in this Special Section analyze different dimensions of the Native American experience in the past and the present. Luis Locay’s article is on “Population Equilibrium in Primitive Societies.“ It is a study of the interaction of population size and growth, natural resources and the variety in economic structures (hunting, gathering, type of agriculture; nomads vs. sedimentary) among native peoples before the arrival of Europeans in what is now the United States. Terry Anderson’s study “Conservation-Native American Style“ examines the historical and anthropological literature to study the economics of the variety of property rights arrangements. He shows that many of the private property rights traditions that prevented over-hunting and over-fishing have been lost on contemporary Naive American reservations. Where these private property rights have disappeared, so too have the game and fish. Michael Hurst uses contemporary data, the 1990 Census, to analyze “The Determinants of Earnings Differentials for Indigenous Americans.“ The difficulties in defining who is of native origin are highlighted in this paper. The earnings of adult men in native groups that differ in their race/ancestry
745
746
QUARTERLY
REVIEW
OF ECONOMICS
AND FINANCE
responses are analyzed among themselves and in comparison with the nonnative population. Harry Patrinos analyzes survey data to study “Difference in Education and Earnings Across Ethnic Groups in Guatemala.“ He studies Native Americans in a Central American developing economy that differ in the indigenous language they speak, and in comparison to the non-indigenous population. The four studies demonstrate that in spite of severe data problems, empirical research on the work activities of Native Americans, both past and present, in the United States and in another part of the Americas, is both a feasible and among exciting area for research. Moreover, they highlight the heterogeneity native peoples.
NOTES *Direct
Department 7121.
all correspondence to: Barry R. Chiswick, University of Illinois at Chicago, of Economics, 601 S. Morgan Street, Room 2103UH, Chicao, IL 60607.
Focus
Special Section: Native Americans: Then and Now
BARRY R. CHISWICK University
of Illinois
at Chicago
INTRODUCTION The literature on the economics of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States contains very few studies on the people referred to as Native Americans, American Indians or Indigenous Americans. Moreover, there is a tendency in the media and among the general populace to view Native Americans as a homogenous group. Yet, a closer examination reveals the variety of tribal origins, customs, languages spoken, and mixed racial/ethnic ancestries with nonNative American groups. The latter issue raises questions about the difficulties in defining who is of Native American origin. The four articles in this Special Section analyze different dimensions of the Native American experience in the past and the present. Luis Locay’s article is on “Population Equilibrium in Primitive Societies.“ It is a study of the interaction of population size and growth, natural resources and the variety in economic structures (hunting, gathering, type of agriculture; nomads vs. sedimentary) among native peoples before the arrival of Europeans in what is now the United States. Terry Anderson’s study “Conservation-Native American Style“ examines the historical and anthropological literature to study the economics of the variety of property rights arrangements. He shows that many of the private property rights traditions that prevented over-hunting and over-fishing have been lost on contemporary Naive American reservations. Where these private property rights have disappeared, so too have the game and fish. Michael Hurst uses contemporary data, the 1990 Census, to analyze “The Determinants of Earnings Differentials for Indigenous Americans.“ The difficulties in defining who is of native origin are highlighted in this paper. The earnings of adult men in native groups that differ in their race/ancestry
745
746
QUARTERLY
REVIEW
OF ECONOMICS
AND FINANCE
responses are analyzed among themselves and in comparison with the nonnative population. Harry Patrinos analyzes survey data to study “Difference in Education and Earnings Across Ethnic Groups in Guatemala.“ He studies Native Americans in a Central American developing economy that differ in the indigenous language they speak, and in comparison to the non-indigenous population. The four studies demonstrate that in spite of severe data problems, empirical research on the work activities of Native Americans, both past and present, in the United States and in another part of the Americas, is both a feasible and among exciting area for research. Moreover, they highlight the heterogeneity native peoples.
NOTES *Direct
Department 7121.
all correspondence to: Barry R. Chiswick, University of Illinois at Chicago, of Economics, 601 S. Morgan Street, Room 2103UH, Chicao, IL 60607.