Ethnicity,Language, and Economic Well‐being in Rural Guatemala

Abstract We examine ethnic differences in objective and perceived economic well‐being in rural Guatemala. The evidence shows that long‐standing ethnic differentials in objective indicators of household economic well‐being actually widened between 1988 and 1995, a period characterized by rapid economic growth rates. We examine the effects of a major determinant of household economic well‐being in rural Guatemala, educational attainment, in accounting for ethnic and language differentials in household consumption. Our results show that returns to education appear to be substantially lower for indigenous households, especially indigenous households where the head of household does not speak Spanish. Ethnic differentials in perceived economic well‐being do not strictly parallel differences in objective indicators of well‐being. Indigenous women with any education are more likely to report relative economic deprivation than are non‐indigenous women, or ladinas, controlling for objective measures of household wealth.     

Swedish multiculturalism in a comparative European perspective

This article discusses the use of the term multiculturalism and the background of multiculturalist policies in Europe. Postwar migration within and to Europe has changed the ethnic composition of population in most European countries. The main focus is on Sweden, which more strikingly than most European countries has gone through a transformation from a relatively homogeneous society to one with a variety of ethnic and language groups. The author stresses the role of historical factors behind different countries' reception of immigrants and their attitude to programs of integration or assimilation. Parallel to xenophobix phenomena there are very decided activities from governments and organizations to counteract in Western Europe. The increasing cooperation in the economic and political field also makes the issues of immigrant, border minorities, and historic minorities relevant.     

Social Contacts and the Economic Performance of Immigrants: A Panel Study of Immigrants in Germany

Using data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel, we examined the impact of social contacts on immigrant occupational status and income. In addition to general social contacts, we also analyzed the effects of bonding (i.e., co‐ethnic) and bridging (i.e., inter‐ethnic) ties on economic outcomes. Results show that general social contacts have a positive effect on the occupational status and, in particular, annual income of immigrants. We also find that bridging ties with Germans lead to higher occupational status, but not to increased income. These effects remain visible even when social contacts are measured (at least) 1 year prior to the economic outcomes, as well as when earlier investments in German human capital are considered. Finally, we show that co‐ethnic concentration in the region of residence weakly affects economic returns to German language proficiency and schooling.     

Precious blood: Work,family and community in South Holyoke, 1920–80

This study of a particular district of a Massachusetts town indicates how, over the space of some 70 years, patterns of work have changed dramatically. Making particular use of oral history methodology, the study identifies the changing significance of economic shifts over three generations and focuses on the ethnic composition of the workforce. It notes the differential experiences for the various groups and the processes whereby cultural values and family ties were gradually eroded as a more homogeneous ‘American’ economic and social pattern was imposed on the locality.     

Grandfather caregivers: race and ethnic differences in poverty

We use data from the 2006 American Community Survey to examine race and ethnic differences in the effects of marital status and co-residence of the middle generation on the likelihood of poverty among grandfathers who have primary responsibility for co-resident grandchildren (N = 3,379). Logistic regression results indicate that race/ethnicity and household composition are significant predictors of poverty for grandfather caregivers: non-Hispanic white grandfathers, those who are married, and those with a co-resident middle generation are the least likely to be poor. The effects of race/ethnicity, marital status, and the presence of a middle generation are, however, contingent upon one another. Specifically, the negative effect of being married is lower among grandfathers who are Hispanic, African American, non-Hispanic, and non-Hispanics of other race/ethnic groups compared to whites. In addition, having a middle generation in the home has a larger negative effect on poverty for race/ethnic minority grandfathers than for non-Hispanic whites. Finally, the combined effects of marriage and a middle generation vary across race/ethnic group and are associated with lower chances of poverty among some groups compared with others. We use the theory of cumulative disadvantage to interpret these findings and suggest that race/ethnicity and household composition are synergistically related to economic resources for grandfather caregivers.     

ETHNIC DIVERSITY, SEGREGATION, AND INEQUALITY: A Structural Model of Ethnic Prejudice in Bosnia and Croatia

Widespread ethnic prejudice is an incomplete explanation for the development of war in the former Yugoslavia. However, high levels of prejudice in ethnic enclaves played an important role in increasing ethnic tensions and facilitating the outbreak of war. The purpose of this article is to explain county differences in average levels of ethnic prejudice in Bosnia and Croatia prior to the wars of national separation. We focus on structural characteristics of counties, such as ethnic diversity, economic conditions, and ethnic segregation and inequality, to explain county differences in average levels of prejudice. We also consider the possibility that compositional differences among counties (e.g., differences in average levels of education) explain county differences in ethnic prejudice. We combine survey data and county-level census data collected immediately prior to the wars of national separation and use hierarchical linear modeling techniques to analyze these data. Results suggest that ethnic diversity and ethnic occupational segregation decrease ethnic prejudice while ethnic economic inequality increases ethnic prejudice. Thus, structural characteristics account for some of the county differences in average levels of prejudice. County compositional differences, however, explain a majority of the county variation in ethnic prejudice. These results provide important clues to the origins of pockets of intense ethnic prejudice within diverse societies.     

Ethnicity,opportunity, and upward mobility: Korean entrepreneurship in the Argentine garment industry 1965–2015

ABSTRACT

Currently, among the approximately 20,000 ethnic Koreans living in Argentina, an estimated 80% are engaged in the garment industry. Within the theoretical frameworks of immigrant entrepreneurship, this research examines why and how Korean Argentines have been continuously concentrated in the clothing industry from the beginning of Korean immigration in the 1960s to the present. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Argentina and on archival and documentary research, this study illustrates how Korean immigrant community in Argentina has settled and achieved upward mobility in the face of complex and fluctuating social and economic circumstances, combining opportunities with strategies and resources to create comparative advantages and benefits. By combining historical contextualisation with theories on immigrant entrepreneurs that had previously only been tested on short-term study periods, findings further suggest that scholars should pay closer attention to historical shifts and accounts in analysing longer-term periods of ethnic business.     

Born Without a Silver Spoon: Race,Wealth, and Unintended Childbearing

The United States has a surprisingly high rate of unintended fertility, particularly among women of color. Although studies have examined socioeconomic correlates of unintended fertility, the role of economic resources remains unclear. Wealth may provide an important context for whether a birth was intended or unintended. Moreover, staggering racial wealth disparities may contribute to racial/ethnic patterns of unintended childbearing. This study examines the linkages between wealth and unintended first births, drawing on data from the NLSY79 (N?=?1508). Results suggest that net wealth is negatively related to the probability of having an unintended first birth, controlling for a host of sociodemographic characteristics. We also use decomposition analysis to quantify wealth’s contribution to racial/ethnic disparities in unintended childbearing. Second only to marital status, differences in net wealth account for 9–17% of racial/ethnic disparities in unintended childbearing. Our results suggest that wealth is a significant and heretofore overlooked correlate of unintended childbearing.     

Strong Ties,Weak Ties,and Human Capital: Latino Immigrant Employment Outside the Enclave*

Abstract This study focuses on the role of social ties and human capital in the integration of Latino immigrants into the local economy. This analysis extends earlier research by focusing on more rural contexts with limited labor‐market opportunities and less access to social resources provided by coethnics. We reconsider conclusions of previous studies by focusing on areas with limited labor‐market opportunities and less access to resources provided by coethnics. Using data from in‐depth interviews, focus‐group discussions, and surveys of former farmworkers in five rural communities in New York, we consider how individuals move from agricultural to other types of employment. Multinomial logit and ordinary least squares regression analyses confirm indications from our qualitative data that strong social ties, weak ties, and human capital all play distinctive parts in the economic integration of immigrants outside the ethnic enclave. These resources have the most positive impact on incomes when they contribute to the immigrants' self‐reliance in finding employment. This finding is consistent with observations from the social‐network literature that those who are less reliant on strong social ties are better able to take advantage of a broader range of labor‐market opportunities.     

Childhood Family,Ethnicity, and Drug Use Over the Life Course

Using multiply imputed data from 5 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 8,294), we investigated whether childhood family characteristics and childhood religious affiliation explain ethnic differences in marijuana and cocaine use in the last year. None of the childhood factors explained ethnic differences in drug use, though ethnicity and several childhood factors had age‐specific effects. Over the life course from young adulthood to middle age, ethnic differences in drug use changed and the effect of childhood religious affiliation declined. Having a more intellectually rich family in childhood increased the risk of drug use at younger ages but reduced it at older ages. The study demonstrates the significance of childhood family experiences for understanding adult drug use.     

Dress and Cultural Strategy: Tai Peddlers in Transnational Trade along the Burma – Yunnan Frontier

This paper explores transnational trade carried out by the Tai, an ethnic nationality spread across the border area between Shan State in Myanmar and Dehong Prefecture in Yunnan province in China. The Tai who live in this border region belong to a linguistic group that has long shared cultural and linguistic traits with the Thai in Thailand and other Tai-speaking groups in Vietnam, Laos and other parts of Southeast Asia. This paper focuses on the Tai peddlers who conduct trade between Thailand and Shan state in commodities such as Thai and Tai traditional clothing and entertainment VCDs featuring Shan and Thai songs. The focus is on peddling in traditional Thai dress styles that are popular with Dehong Tai customers. The author contends that dress practices have gained a meaning and status in displaying acquired wealth, and this has resulted in shifting status hierarchy among members of Dehong Tai society. Wearing certain clothes becomes a self-identification that the Dehong Tai use to manifest their social position in public. This in turn helps them to destabilize both their lower-status position in the Han-dominated Chinese society and the cultural imbalance between themselves and the Chinese.     

Growth with equity: income inequality in Vietnam, 2002–14

We use the 2002 through 2014 Vietnam Household Living Standards Surveys to construct comparable measures of household income and estimates of income inequality over this high-growth period. We focus on two questions: How have benefits from growth been distributed; and do changes in the structure of the economy map into changes in inequality? We explore dimensions in which inequality may vary, notably urban versus rural, and by ethnic status. We also decompose inequality by income source to highlight key factors underlying the relatively low levels of inequality during this period. We find that agricultural opportunities played an important role in dampening inequality, but more important has been the steady development of wage-labor markets in both urban and rural areas. An important caveat to the generally rosy picture we paint is the deteriorating position of ethnic minorities. Finally, we draw comparisons with China and document key differences in their growth-inequality experiences.     

Housing and economic development: The evolution of an idea since 1945

The construction and use of decent housing affects economic development through its impact on employment, savings, investment, and labour productivity. These facts have only recently come to be widely acknowledged. Since 1945, housing experts have articulated three views about the role of housing for economic development. In the early post-war decades most writers viewed housing as a social expenditure and a drag on growth. A minority argued that housing could be an important adjunct to specific development projects, usually in isolated locations. Since the 1970s, housing has increasingly come to be seen as a contributor to growth, not only because house building is a major employer with large multiplier effects but also because housing is seen to have social consequences with diverse economic effects. This historical narrative as to how opinion has changed raises questions as to why it has changed.     

Immigrant socioeconomic mobility in the United States: Mechanisms of inequality and the role of ethnic capital

We review recent social science research on the socioeconomic mobility of immigrants to the United States by focusing on the educational, occupational, and income attainments among immigrant adults, the first‐generation, and the educational attainment of their children, the New Second‐Generation. Existing research has identified significant inequalities in educational attainment between second‐generation Asian and Latinx immigrant groups. Researchers have also highlighted the importance of ethnic capital for mobility, but we find that they have largely proceeded with the assumption that co‐ethnic ties are easily available as a benefit for immigrants upon resettlement. We propose that future research on immigrant socioeconomic mobility should incorporate conceptual insights from economic and cultural sociology as well as use comparative ethnographic research designs to directly observe how ethnic capital operates to challenge or reinforce patterns of socioeconomic inequality.     

The connectivity of ethnic displays: new codes for identity in northern Laos

In Laos, cultural festivals and other forms of ethnic display communicate locality and ethnicity to external agencies, in particular the nation state. This article documents strategies of identity-making in a small festival that was staged spontaneously in a Rmeet (Lamet) village. The chosen representations were conventional: dance, music, clothing. The Rmeet thereby employed a festival code used by numerous minorities worldwide. But these recently invented traditions are continuous with earlier representations that addressed various categories of strangers, including historic states and non-state groups. What has changed is the connectivity of the representations. Dance or costume used to represent external relationships in the past, but have been recoded for present use. Moreover, Rmeet have appropriated a New Year’s festival invented by the neighboring Khmu. Thus, ethnic displays appear as the most recent way of communicating difference in a code that connects them with the state, neighboring ethnicities, and a global language of locality.     

Religion,ethnicity and cooperation: An experimental study

We investigate how cross-cutting ethnic and religious identities as well as the strength of individual religiosity and fundamentalism affect individual cooperation. In a repeated prisoner’s dilemma experiment, information about subjects’ religious and ethnic identities was either revealed or concealed to examine the individual and joint effects of these influences on subject decisions. While subjects’ knowledge of others’ religious and ethnic difference has no net effect on their cooperativeness, the awareness of similarity increases it. Subject religiosity and fundamentalism have no independent effect on cooperation, but they enhance ethnic and religious intergroup effects.     

THE UNRELENTING SIGNIFICANCE OF MINORITY STATUSES: GENDER,ETHNICITY, AND ECONOMIC ATTAINMENT SINCE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and based on the split-class theory of racial and ethnic discrimination, this research examines the effects of gender, ethnicity, education, family characteristics, and geographic residence over time on economic attainment. While gender and family poverty status had greater impacts on overall economic attainment, results reveal that being an ethnic minority is significantly associated with lower wages. Moreover, results reveal that the disadvantage to racial and ethnic minorities has expanded over time or becomes more important at advanced ages. The results lend support to split-class theory and the arguments of Charles V. Willie that race/ethnicity has become a more important, rather than becoming less important indicator of poverty and income. Further, the results refute the notions that Affirmative Action has accomplished its goals or that it leads to reverse discrimination against White males.     

Language shift in Gammalsvenskby: A nexus analysis of the shift to Ukrainian in a traditionally Swedish‐speaking community

This article examines the collective language shift from Swedish to Ukrainian in the Swedish‐ethnic community of Gammalsvenskby, Ukraine. The Gammalsvenskby language shift is used to argue that language shift is such a complex social practice that it cannot be satisfactorily explained by the use of preconceived, deductive analytical frameworks. The argument is probed through a study of selected themes in the life story interviews of 16 last‐generation Swedish‐speakers, making use of the framework of nexus analysis. The study shows that the different kinds of discourses involved in the Gammalsvenskby language shift have resulted in a complex network of interrelated processes of change on various levels. These processes are so intertwined and have had such different scalar effects, that they cannot be simply grouped as factors which are classed as either micro or macro.     

Neighborhood Diversity, Metropolitan Constraints, and Household Migration

Focusing on micro-level processes of residential segregation, this analysis combines data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics with contextual information from three censuses and several other sources to examine patterns of residential mobility between neighborhoods populated by different combinations of racial and ethnic groups. We find that despite the emergence of multiethnic neighborhoods, stratified mobility dynamics continue to dominate, with relatively few black or white households moving into neighborhoods that could be considered multiethnic. However, we also find that the tendency for white and black households to move between neighborhoods dominated by their own group varies significantly across metropolitan areas. Black and white households' mobility into more integrated neighborhoods is shaped substantially by demographic, economic, political, and spatial features of the broader metropolitan area. Metropolitan-area racial composition, the stock of new housing, residential separation of black and white households, poverty rates, and functional specialization emerge as particularly important predictors. These macro-level effects reflect opportunities for intergroup residential contact as well as structural forces that maintain residential segregation.