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Title: Labor market and educational stratification among Asian immigrants and their children: Investigating the role of the ethnic economy

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2007

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Abstract: This project investigates the impact of ethnic economy employment on the adaptation of Asian immigrants and their children in the United States. First, I take into account sources of heterogeneity within the ethnic economy and examine variation in the effects of ethnic economy employment on labor market experiences and rewards among Asian immigrant workers. Second, I examine the intergenerational effects of the ethnic economy on high school employment patterns and post-secondary school enrollment among children of immigrants. With data from the 2000 U.S. Census, I disaggregate the ethnic and mainstream economies into primary and secondary segments, and use matching-attainment models to assess the effects of working in an ethnic economy on hours worked per week, hourly wages, and yearly income, correcting for selection bias. I find that male Asian immigrants who work in the ethnic economy work one to two more hours per week than those in the mainstream economy, but there is no difference in hours worked per week among females. Among males, I find that there is a negative effect of working in the ethnic secondary segment of the labor market as opposed to the mainstream primary segment on hourly wage, but for females, the effect on wages is positive. For both men and women, there is no effect of ethnic economy employment on yearly income. In addition, the wage returns to human capital in ethnic economy are similar to the mainstream economy. Using data from the 2000 Census and from the University of Washington’s Beyond High School project, I find that children of immigrants whose parents work in the ethnic economy are more likely to either not work at all during high school or to work in the ethnic economy themselves as opposed to working the mainstream economy. In addition, parental employment in the ethnic economy can act as a springboard for education for children by fostering bilingualism, higher educational expectations, and higher levels of significant others’ influence. The results of this dissertation support the notion that maintaining connections with their ethnic communities can be beneficial for their educational and occupational mobility.

Url: https://search.proquest.com/docview/304837855/fulltextPDF/354DF41C8CE44CF1PQ/1?accountid=14586

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Authors: Lee, Jennifer, C

Institution: Univerity of Minnesota

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Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Publisher Location: John Warren

Pages: 368

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Education, Labor Force and Occupational Structure

Countries: United States