The Generation 2.5 Curse? Comparing Educational Outcomes for Children of Immigrant Intermarriages in the United States

Is having one native-born parent an advantage for the child of an immigrant? Much of the classical literature on immigrant assimilation would suggest that children with one native-born and one foreign-born parent (generation 2.5) should fare better than those whose parents are both foreign-born (generation 2.0) Generation 2.5 individuals should have greater access to native networks, face less discrimination, and better bilcultural awareness. Despite these seeming advantages, recent studies suggest the opposite, with generation 2.5 having worse educational outcomes than their generation 2.0 counterparts. In this paper, we utilize propensity score matching to evaluate differences in educational outcomes between these two groups. We estimate that on average, generation 2.5 have nearly half a year less education than their generation 2.0 counterparts despite having better-educated parents on average. A number of explanations for this are explored, with a higher degree of bilingualism for generation 2.0, foreign-born parents investing more in children's education, and access to highly skilled immigrant networks being the most promising explanations.