Puerto Rico's Pre-Maria Economic Crisis, Diverse Migration Patterns, and Hispanic Economic Heterogeneity

This podcast episode delves into the profound economic crisis that gripped Puerto Rico long before Hurricane Maria, tracing its origins back to 2006. Dr. Marie Mora, a professor of economics, highlights that the island experienced only one year of positive economic growth since 2006, leading to a severely weakened labor market, widespread industry shutdowns, job losses, and a massive net out-migration. This exodus, which saw the population drop from 3.8 million to 3.2 million, primarily involved young people in their childbearing years, resulting in a rapidly aging population and a negative natural increase on the island. The government's hands are tied by an oversight board, established through 2016 legislation following a 2015 bankruptcy declaration, which is criticized for its lack of accountability to the Puerto Rican people.

The analysis further distinguishes between various profiles of Puerto Rican migrants settling on the U.S. mainland. While Florida has become a primary destination, attracting a diverse group, states like Texas are receiving highly educated and employed migrants, often actively recruited for bilingual positions in education and healthcare. Conversely, traditional destinations such as New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania tend to attract migrants with lower education levels and higher rates of impoverishment. This heterogeneity underscores the need for tailored, rather than "one-size-fits-all," policies to assist migrants in adapting to their new homes. A significant finding is the potential for wage discrimination against highly educated Puerto Rican migrants in states like Texas, where they may be underpaid despite being actively recruited for their skills.

The discussion broadens to address the economic outcomes of Hispanic populations in the U.S., emphasizing the critical importance of disaggregating data. Dr. Mora argues against treating Hispanics as a homogeneous group, noting that aggregated statistics often reflect trends within Mexican-Americans, who constitute nearly two-thirds of the U.S. Hispanic population. She highlights distinct differences in needs and outcomes among groups like Puerto Ricans (U.S. citizens by birth), Mexican immigrants (often less educated and recently arrived), and Cuban refugees. Understanding these nuances is crucial for effective policy-making and addressing specific challenges faced by each group.

Finally, the episode offers a critique of the economics profession, urging economists to move beyond theoretical models and technical exercises to actively address real-world economic and social problems. Dr. Mora advocates for a deeper inquiry into the "why" behind observed disparities, such as education and earnings gaps, even among U.S.-born citizens. She stresses the importance of identifying and dismantling structural barriers—like lack of financial capital or transportation issues—that prevent certain groups from accessing higher education. By applying economic thinking to find solutions to these systemic issues, economists can contribute meaningfully to the future economic prosperity of the country, particularly given the growing Hispanic population.

if you have a growing population that is not acquiring education as as rapidly as other groups then that has implications for the future economic prosperity of this country

a lot of people are unaware that there was a lot of massive net out-migration really since 2006 and it had to do with this economic crisis that Puerto Rico has been enduring

when Hurricane Maria struck the island was already extremely weak had a very weak labor market had a crippling shutdown of industry scaling back loss of jobs and again a loss of population

the population that's moving tends to be young and they're more likely to be in their childbearing years so the population on the island is rapidly aging

some of the criticisms with oversight board is that it's not accountable to the Puerto Rican people and they're looking at ways for Puerto Rico to manage its debts

it's not like a one-size-fits-all policy that could help these migrants adapt to their you know their new their new homes

we found that they were not being rewarded as much for their skills and so that warrants more investigation in terms of it could be related to discrimination that they may be heavily recruited from the island but they're being underpaid for the work that they're doing

a lot of the average numbers that we hear are reflecting what's happening within mexican-americans Mexican Americans represent nearly two-thirds of all Hispanics in the u.s. excluding Island residents

I think one of the problems with our profession is that we've got we become somewhat slaves to our theoretical models yet to the point that sometimes just like the model is driving what we're trying to research rather than having ideas and trying to find a model to explain what's happening

if there are structural barriers that are preventing people from accessing let's say financial capital means to go to school transportation issues that is blocking consistently a group of again American citizens from acquiring higher education then that's where we can use our economic thinking to try to find solutions to that