Public Administration ETDs

Michael John

Publication Date

4-26-1972

Abstract

This study addresses two questions: Do value differentials exist between Anglos and Mexican-Americans in Albuquerque, and if so, would they likely affect the administration of welfare programs encompassing work-related reforms?

Data concerning the Mexican-American population in the South­west suggest that as a whole it occupies a social and economic niche inferior to that of the Anglos. Value differentials between the two groups, however, seem to be situational and subject to influence by a variety of factors including physical environment, as well as class variables such as educational achievement and occupational status.

The research on values in Albuquerque presented herein relies mainly on data developed by the Citizen Attitude Survey conducted in 1970 by the Albuquerque Urban Observatory. The dependent varia­bles under consideration are the respondent's preferences in regard to two categories of government spending: on welfare and assistance to dependent children, and on medical care for the needy. The independent, or "explanatory" variables utilized include ethnicity, homeownership, age, sex, and political trust, the last-named being construed as an index of alienation.

A two-point hypothesis is proposed: that those persons influenced by an ethos which stresses personal achievement, initiative, and hard work should be relatively non-supportive of the two government activities outlined above; and second, that the preference profiles of Anglo and Spanish-surnamed in Albuquerque should be rather similar.

The actual findings of the research produced statistically significant differentials in preferences which, at first glance, appear to be strongly associated with the ethnicity variable. On closer analysis, however, “class” becomes an important explanatory variable.

The conclusions for welfare administration derived from the research include:

1. That the factor of ethnicity per se is not sufficient to prevent Mexican-Americans from adopting an achievement-oriented value system;

2. That Mexican-Americans can be expected to respond positively to work-related welfare reform, provided that such reform actually contributes to upward social mobility;

3. That the factor of ethnicity may, however, be important to certain specific welfare issues. Finally, this study sets forth several areas of practical issues which are believed pertinent to welfare administration in New Mexico.

Degree Name

Public Administration

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

School of Public Administration

First Committee Member (Chair)

Frank Xavier Steggert

Second Committee Member

Nicholas Llewellyn Henry

Third Committee Member

Illegible

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

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