The Persistence of Racial Disadvantage: The Socioeconomic Attainments of Single-Race and Multi-Race Native Americans

Using data from the 2000 U.S. Census, we investigate the schooling and earnings of single-race and multi-race Native Americans. Our analysis distinguishes between Single-Race Native Americans, biracial White Native Americans, biracial Hispanic-White Native Americans, and biracial Black Native Americans. Further differentiating by gender, the results indicate significant variation in socioeconomic attainments across these different Native American groups although almost all of them are in some way disadvantaged relative to non-Hispanic, non-Native American whites. The most disadvantaged group tends to be Single-Race Native Americans who have the lowest levels of schooling as well as lower earnings relative to non-Hispanic, non-Native American whites who are comparable in terms of schooling, age, and other basic demographic characteristics. The results demonstrate notable differentials by the racial/ethnic type of Native American group as well as by gender. In the case of men, all of the Native American groups have clear socioeconomic disadvantages. One contrast is that migration slightly increases the earnings of men but it slightly decreases the earnings of women. We interpret these findings as underscoring how measured socioeconomic differentials between demographic groups are significantly affected by the categorization of race/ethnicity in surveys and by how persons choose to be enumerated in terms of those categories.     

The Socioeconomic Attainments of Non-immigrant Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Laotian, Thai, and Vietnamese Americans

Using recent American Community Survey data, this study investigates socioeconomic attainments of six ethnic groups of Southeast Asian Americans. Findings show that the educational attainment of Filipinos, Vietnamese, and Thai is higher than that of whites, while the educational attainment of Cambodians, Hmong, and Laotians is lower than that of whites. Regarding earnings, Southeast Asian American women are generally not disadvantaged relative to white women, but Southeast Asian American men tend to have lower earnings than white men after controlling for education and other demographic factors such as age, metropolitan residence, and region. We conclude that Cambodians, Hmong, and Laotians are the most disadvantaged groups among Southeast Asian Americans and that most Southeast Asian American male groups tend to be at least slightly disadvantaged in the labor market at least after controlling for metropolitan residence and region.     

Cultural constraints on rising income inequality: A U.S.–Japan comparison

Prior research has identified fundamental cultural and normative concepts—including wa, enryo, giri, and amae—that are typically argued to be integral to Japanese society. We advance this line of research by discussing how these traditional cultural concepts may influence labor market relations and thereby constrain the degree of income inequality in Japan relative to the U.S. Collectivist cultural attitudes are embedded in Japanese work organization, and are naturally inherited social constraints when compared to more unbridled labor market relations of the “New Economy” in the U.S. While studies of rising inequality in the U.S. and Europe consider how governmental policies impinge upon market forces in order to moderate labor market outcomes, our analysis suggests how culture may sometimes directly constrain income inequality without imposing legal regulations or instituting official programs.     

Demographic Factors Associated with Poverty among American Indians and Alaska Natives

Using data from the American Community Survey for the period 2006–2010, this study provides up-to-date demographic information about poverty among American Indians and Alaska Natives. Our analysis investigates both absolute poverty and relative poverty and distinguishes between four racial categories of American Indians and Alaska Natives including single-race American Indian; biracial white and American Indian; biracial black and American Indian; and other multirace American Indian. We also report results for thirty-seven of the largest self-reported tribal affiliations for single-race American Indians. In general, all of the American Indian and Alaska Native groups have higher levels of absolute and relative poverty rates compared to non-Hispanic whites. The problematic character of poverty among American Indian racial groups is underscored by their substantially higher odds of being poor (relative to non-Hispanic whites), even after statistically taking into account age, gender, education, metropolitan status, and region of residence. Significant variation across the thirty-seven tribal groups is evident, however, with single-race American Indians having the highest level of poverty. This variability suggests the need for future research into the various tribal affiliations and tribal economies.