Center for Migration and Development

The aim of this longitudinal study, based on data on Cuban and Mexican immigrants to the USA collected in 1973-74, was to map the process of immigrant adaptation and incorporation into the labour market. The survey data contained in this archive was gathered over a period beginning in 1973-74 and ending in 1979. This data is the primary source for the publication Latin Journey: Cuban and Mexican Immigrants in the United States (Portes and Bach 1985). The longitudinal character of the study also allowed the researchers to untangle the sequence of events leading to specific results and to compare the effects of what immigrants bring with them with those stemming from the social and economic context that receives them.

Each data file contains data from the original survey and the two follow up surveys. For each sample there are three files. One is an SPSS system file with an .sav suffix (e.g. cuba123.sav). This is in binary format and must be retrieved as such. These files may be analyzed using the SPSS statistical analysis program. An analogous file contains all the data in ascii (text) format. These files have a .dat suffix (e.g. mex123.dat). They can be read into any statistical analysis software using an appropriate format statement. Stata-compatible data files are also available and have a .dta extension. For each data file there is a corresponding codebook in .cdx format, accessible with Microsoft Windows (save to a convenient location on your computer, then use Microsoft Word to open the document). These contain information about variable formats and values.