Nevada minorities making economic strides, study says

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Thursday, Aug. 1, 2002 | 10:59 a.m.

A new study shows that Nevada's minorities have made gains in their buying power since 1990 that place them in the top 10 nationwide in that category.

The University of Georgia study also shows that Asians, Hispanics and blacks in Nevada have increased their income at a faster rate than the state's total population during the last 12 years.

"What this means is that not only are minorities in Nevada not getting left behind in the growing economy, they're actually leading the way," said economist Jeffrey M. Humphreys, the study's author.

"This will not only have implications for the state's economy, but for politics as well."

The study shows that Nevada's Asians ranked first nationwide in their growth in buying power since 1990, while the state's blacks and Hispanics ranked second and seventh, respectively.

Hispanics led the way among minorities statewide, showing an increase in income after taxes of 442.5 percent during the period measured.

Representatives of the communities studied had differing explanations for the study's results.

"A lot Asians have come from other states, where the cost of living tends to be higher," said Tonie Sison, vice president of external affairs for Concerned Asians of Nevada Development Organization, an umbrella group of Asian civic and business groups.

"Many of them tend to work two jobs, which comes from a strong work ethic that is passed down."

Sison said the Las Vegas Valley's Asian community, which he estimates at 100,000, is demonstrating its growing economic clout by expanding Chinatown along Spring Mountain Road to the east and opening Phillipine stores on Charleston Boulevard near Maryland Parkway.

Sison and Tony Sanchez, president of the 1,000-member Latin Chamber of Commerce, said more money in their respective communities also leads to more political clout.

He pointed to the 12 Asian candidates in November's elections for offices including State Assembly and District Court, an all-time high.

"We've endorsed these candidates, and are getting out the vote for them," Sison said.

Sanchez said Hispanics are fielding at least 20 candidates this year, also a first.

"A lot of these candidates enjoy financial support from the Hispanic community," he said.

Sanchez, a lawyer, said the region no longer attracts Hispanics solely to work in blue-collar jobs, but also draws professionals. In addition, the local economy offers opportunities for women as well as men, he said, which makes the state more attractive to Hispanic families.

Blacks differ from Asians and Hispanics as a group because most are not immigrants.

Their increase in income after taxes is due less to younger wage earners arriving from other countries than to an influx of retired couples with pensions, said Louis Overstreet, executive director of the Urban Chamber of Commerce.

"What you have is people from places like Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago moving here to retire," Overstreet said.

This means that blacks as a whole are not necessarily doing better, he said.

"If anything, economic disparities are growing between the haves and have-nots, and the have-nots are often minorities," he said.

Still, Humphreys, the economist, said the study shows that minorities in Nevada may be more cost-effective to reach as consumers, since any kind of targeted marketing campaign will be reaching groups with rapidly increasing disposable incomes.

And the same, he said, can be said for minorities as part of the state's political life.

"To the extent that ... politics is more than head counts and is also about financing campaigns and candidates, these populations will definitely be a part of future political processes," said Humphreys, whose study was titled "The Multicultural Economy: Minority Buying Power in the New Century."