Does Poverty Among Immigrants Adapt to Country of Residence? Turks in Germany and Denmark

We use data on Turkish immigrants in two European welfare states, Denmark and Germany, and data on Turks at home. Unlike in most studies of immigrant poverty, we thus control for the differences in immigrant composition. Denmark and Germany have different welfare state types, labour market structure and institutions. We find that in both countries Turkish immigrants have much higher poverty rates than natives. We perform Fairlie decompositions to find that in Denmark, compared to Germany, a larger part of the native‐immigrant poverty difference is explained by market valuation of characteristics and by unobservables. Finally, we decompose poverty by subgroups and find that certain immigrant subgroups (such as families with children and the elderly) are especially vulnerable in both countries and that not much has changed in the two countries between 2008 and 2013 in terms of the vulnerability of these sub‐groups to poverty risk.     

When Do Papers Matter? An Institutional Analysis of Undocumented Life in the United States

This article assesses how two key institutions differentially shape immigrants’ relationship to their rights in American society. We draw on over 200 in‐depth interviews to argue that there is a stark difference between how schools encourage undocumented youth to view themselves as equal members of US society and how undocumented workers are marginalized in the workplace. We find that even as schools track and stratify students, they also foster a culture of meritocracy between documented and undocumented youth. Schools ultimately render immigration status irrelevant as undocumented youth learn to navigate the primary institution of this stage of their lives. Conversely, immigration status is central to the experience of undocumented workers, who develop a particular set of survival skills that help them live and work successfully in the United States without being detected while also erecting a barrier between themselves and any additional rights they may be afforded.     

Poles Apart? EU Enlargement and the Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom was one of only three countries to allow migrants from accession countries to enter their labour markets more or less without restriction following European Union enlargement in May 2004. Therefore, it is important to establish the characteristics and labour market performance of migrants from these countries who have subsequently entered the United Kingdom. We principally analyse Labour Force Survey data to compare the labour market outcomes of recent migrants from Poland and other accession countries to those of earlier migrant cohorts from these countries as well as to those of other recent migrants to the United Kingdom. We find that the majority of post‐enlargement migrants from the new member states have found employment in low paying jobs, despite some (especially Poles) possessing relatively high levels of education. It follows that recent Polish migrants typically have lower returns to their education than other recent arrivals. Migrants from the new member states who arrived immediately prior to enlargement have similar characteristics and labour market outcomes, apart from displaying a higher propensity to be self‐employed. These results are discussed in the context of policy changes, migration strategies, assimilation effects and possible impacts on the sending countries.     

The effect of family structure on parents’ child care time in the United States and the United Kingdom

We use time-diary data from the 2003 and 2004 American Time Use Surveys and the 2000 United Kingdom Time Use Study to estimate the effect of family structure on the time mothers and fathers spend on primary and passive child care and on market work, using a system of correlated Tobit equations. Our results indicate that estimates are sensitive to the inclusion of a common household factor that controls for selection into family type. Estimates from the selection-controlled models indicate that single parents in both countries spend more time in child care than married or cohabiting parents, perhaps in part to compensate for the missing parent, but that there is no difference in the time allocation of married and cohabiting parents. There are substantial cross-country differences, however, as single parents in the U.S. work more than other parents and single parents in the U.K. work less.

'Land of the free'? Circulating human rights and narrated lives in the United States

Abstract

In the 50 years during which human rights has gained an international currency, personal narratives have become one of the most potent vehicles for advancing human rights claims. This is particularly true in the United States where personal narratives attesting to human rights violations frequently gain wide exposure through mass publication and publicity, media circulation, and global information flows. This article explores the circulation of human rights narratives in the United States, examining some of the ways that stories enter into public discourse through published life narratives, television talk shows, news reports, campus lectures and publicity tours, websites, and the like, and are taken up by popular and academic audiences, spurring debates within the fields of legal and political theory, international relations, religion, morality and ethics, often far removed from the originating event or site of human rights violation. The article considers the many intended and unintended effects of this circulation on storytellers, their audiences, and the campaigns they represent.     

Are There Differing Patterns of Health Care Access and Utilization Among Male Sexual Minorities in the United States?

Disparities in health care access and utilization among male sexual minorities in the United States were explored using data from the National Survey of Family Growth (N = 8,846). Bisexual men had a small disadvantage in health insurance coverage but no differences were found in health insurance or consistency of coverage between gay and heterosexual men. Gay men were more likely to have a usual place of care, but were not more likely to utilize services. The current study provides inconclusive evidence for systematic disparities in health care access and utilization among gay and bisexual men in the United States.     

Variations in Fertility and Earning Patterns among Immigrants in the United States, 1970–1980: Assimilation or Disruption?*

"This paper examines the assimilation of immigrants in familial and economic fields.... Specific objectives are as follows: (1) to describe fertility and earning patterns among immigrants to the United States in 1970-1980, from several countries of origin, and (2) to describe some effects of assimilation, human capital, and the dual labor market perspectives on immigrant earnings." Findings vary in both fertility and economic categories for migrants depending on whether they are from developed or developing countries. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Is a new structurally dispossessed class developing in the United States?

This study inquires whether a new structurally dispossessed class is developing in the United States. The new class proposition is derived from social theory and operationalized by two empirical characteristics: not in the labor force (NILF) and family income below poverty. The primary data source is the Current Population Survey over the years from 1968 to 2018, and threshold demographic criteria for class development is specified as increasing size and diversity. Because evidence is found to support the latter criterion but not the former, the proposition that a new class is developing is partially rejected. The analysis finds that new social components are joining the NILF/impoverished including men, Hispanics, college graduates, and young adults. Second, that the NILF/impoverished are politically active in terms of electoral participation, and no more likely than the total electorate to have voted for a populist Presidential candidate in 2016. NILF/impoverished recipiency of state transfers varies over time, increasing through the Great Recession, then receding. The implications of the investigation are discussed in terms of the likelihood that the NILF/impoverished will generate new forms of political opposition to the rule of capital.     

Negative Acculturation and Nothing More? Cumulative Disadvantage and Mortality during the Immigrant Adaptation Process among Latinos in the United States

Foreign‐ and U.S.‐born Hispanic health deteriorates with increasing exposure and acculturation to mainstream U.S. society. Because these associations are robust to (static) socioeconomic controls, negative acculturation has become their primary explanation. This overemphasis, however, has neglected important alternative structural explanations. Examining Hispanic mortality using the 1998–2006 U.S. National Health Interview Survey‐Linked Mortality File according to nativity, immigrant adaptation measures, and health behaviors, this study presents indirect but compelling evidence that suggests negative acculturation is not the only or main explanation for this deterioration.     

Reliability and Validity of the IPAQ-L in a Sample of Hong Kong Urban Older Adults: Does Neighborhood of Residence Matter?

This study examined reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Long Form (IPAQ-LC) in Chinese seniors, including moderating effects of neighborhood walkability and socioeconomic status (SES) on reliability and validity. The IPAQ-LC was interviewer-administered (n = 96), accelerometer and 7-day walk-diary data were collected (n = 94), and the IPAC-LC was readministered (N = 92). Acceptable reliability was found for all measures of physical activity (PA) overall and across different types of neighborhood. Participants from highly walkable neighborhoods were more reliable at estimating walking for transport. Participants from low-SES areas were less reliable at estimating leisure-time PA and sitting but more reliable at estimating transport-related walking. IPAQ-LC walking was significantly related to light- but not moderate-intensity accelerometry-based PA. It was moderately to strongly related to a 7-day diary of walking. The data imply slow-paced walking, probably due to age, climate, and terrain. The findings suggest that the IPAQ-LC's reliability and validity are acceptable in Chinese seniors.     

Why the hyphen? Individual and collective memories of Italianness in the United States at the intersection of class and generation

This three-generation oral history study offers insight into why descendants of Italian migrants to the United States still choose hyphenated identities today. The research project shows how the meaning of Italianness shifts among the interviewees depending on class affiliation: among the middle-class offspring the use of the hyphen can be understood mainly as a reaction to the experienced pressure to give in to Anglo conformity. Among the blue-collar, urban progeny, Italianness expresses itself as a combination of an experienced ethnic environment on the one hand and a symbolic ethnicity on the other.     

Spousal Choice among the Children of Turkish and Moroccan Immigrants in Six European Countries: Transnational Spouse or Co‐ethnic Migrant?

Transnational marriages of migrants in Western Europe tend to be seen as hampering integration. In response, policies have been tightened, despite little knowledge on transnational marriages and the effects of such measures. This paper investigates the role of individual preferences and contextual factors such as family reunification policies, group size and development levels of the regions of origin in partner choice of the children of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants. We draw on a novel dataset collected in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Our findings suggest that transnational marriages are partly associated with contextual factors such as a rural origin and family reunification policies. The analysis indicates higher rates of transnational marriages under open family reunification policies, providing tentative evidence of policy effects. On the individual level, the choice of a partner from the parents' origin country is associated with religiosity.     

Beyond Organic and Fair Trade? An Analysis of Ecolabel Preferences in the United States

The success of alternative food initiatives indicates increasing interest in changing the way food is produced, processed, and sold. Ecolabels such as organic and Fair Trade have entered the mainstream marketplace, and other voluntary identifiers on products are emerging to address criteria not included in these successful initiatives. Little is known about consumer interests in these criteria, however. To anticipate the direction of food‐system changes, as well as assist food producers to meet consumer demands, we conducted a national mail survey to assess preferences for criteria that go “beyond” (or could complement) organic and Fair Trade. We utilized a forced‐choice paired‐comparisons question format to rank five possibilities (humane, local, living wage, small‐scale, U.S. grown) that might feasibly be implemented by food producers. Local was the most popular choice, although humane also received a high level of support. Multilevel logistic regression indicated that local was preferred by rural residents, and that humane was preferred by frequent organic consumers and high‐income households. Survey respondents also chose product labels more frequently than other potential sources of information about their food. Preferences for local and humane ecolabel criteria should be placed in perspective, as consumers expressed much higher levels of interest in the more individualized concerns of safety and nutrition. The results suggest, however, that consumers are interested in a food system that addresses broader political and ethical values, which has implications for production, marketing, and movement building for sustainable food systems.     

Did socioeconomic inequalities in morbidity and mortality change in the United States over the course of the twentieth century?

In this article we present two sets of empirical analyses that consider the extent to which socioeconomic gradients in self-assessed health and child mortality changed since the beginning of the twentieth century in the United States. This empirical issue has important and wide-ranging research and policy implications. In particular, our results speak to the value of considering the role of broader social, economic, and political inequalities in generating and maintaining socioeconomic disparities in morbidity and mortality. Despite dramatic declines in morbidity and mortality rates in the United States across the twentieth century, we find that socioeconomic-status gradients in morbidity and mortality declined only modestly (if at all) during that period.