Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz

Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz, professor of economics and education at Columbia University, will write a book that examines the changing demographics, socioeconomic status, and racial identity of the nearly 7 million Puerto Ricans living in the United States—both on the island and the mainland—during the 1990s. Rivera-Batiz will analyze the forces that contributed to the drop of migration to the mainland, the sharp drop in national Puerto Rican poverty levels and the persistence of poverty among Puerto Ricans living in New York City. Rivera-Batiz will also examine the socioeconomic correlates of racial identity and will organize a conference bringing together social science researchers from both the mainland and the island.