Full Citation

Title: Jim crow, ethnic enclaves, and status attainment: Occupational mobility among U.S. blacks, 1880-1940

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2018

ISBN:

ISSN: 00029602

DOI: 10.1086/701020/ASSET/IMAGES/LARGE/FG1.JPEG

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Abstract: Demographic and ecological theories yieldmixed evidence as to whether ethnic enclaves are a benefit or a hindrance to the status attainment of residents and entrepreneurs. This article provides one possible theoretical resolution by separating the positive effects that may emanate among co-ethnic neighbors from the negative effects that may resultwith the concentration of racial or ethnic groups. The theory is tested by analyzing occupational wage attainment and entrepreneurship among African-Americans between 1880 and 1940, a historical context in which Jim Crow laws imposed segregation exogenously. Drawing on crosssectional and panel census data for representative samples of blacks in theUnited States, the results suggest consistent upward occupational mobilityamong residents with same-race neighbors, accompanied with downward mobility among residents who are concentrated in larger racialized enclaves. Both patterns are also observed in the distribution of entrepreneurial activity among blacks during the Jim Crow era.

Url: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/701020

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Authors: Ruef, Martin; Grigoryeva, Angelina

Periodical (Full): American Journal of Sociology

Issue: 3

Volume: 124

Pages: 814-859

Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS USA - Ancestry Full Count Data

Topics: Housing and Segregation, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Population Mobility and Spatial Demography, Race and Ethnicity

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