HispanicBusiness

Mr. Lopez has seen the increased demand for Hispanic research lure general-market advertising agencies and marketing firms to produce questionable information. "A lot of them have no clue how to do it, but they find they have to offer [these services]," he says.

For the future, demographic trends ensure a strong long-term market for Hispanic data. Mr. Suro points out that the Hispanic community is expanding geographically to new areas of the country. Also, it's a dynamic population, with a mix of immigrants and first-generation U.S. citizens who are the first in their family to attend college or obtain white-collar jobs. "It is a phenomenon in which the future isn't obvious – there's an element of social and cultural change," he says. "When you get a lot of firsts like that, you get a lot of curiosity."

Economically, the fact that the Hispanic population is growing at a time when the nation's Anglo and African-American populations are aging has significant implications, Mr. Suro continues. "This is the labor force that's going to replace the baby boomers and the consumer market that's replacing the baby boomers in a sort of demographic two-step. That has very substantial implications for business and the economy and certainly for public policy."

Mr. Cardenas hopes the future will bring greater sophistication with regard to Hispanic-oriented research and the development of extensive databases and publicly available information. For instance, Texas A&M University, which conducts the Texas Poll, has begun breaking out information on Hispanic respondents to produce a separate pool of opinion information. He also expects more refined analysis of the various subgroups within the Hispanic population. "I think you are going to find that there will be opportunity for even more disaggregation of the population, so one can do comparative work," Mr. Cardenas says.

Just as demographics will drive the demand side of the Hispanic information economy, they may spur the supply side as well. More Hispanics with post-graduate degrees mean more dissertations and qualified researchers on campus. Says Mr. Garcia: "The size and breadth of that academic community has increased just as much as the population has gained and increased" – or about 50 percent since 1990.