IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/anname/v620y2008i1p37-61.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Success Attained, Deterred, and Denied: Divergent Pathways to Social Mobility in Los Angeles's New Second Generation

Author

Listed:
  • Min Zhou

    (Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles)

  • Jennifer Lee

    (University of California, Irvine)

  • Jody Agius Vallejo

    (University of Southern California and a visiting research fellow at the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies and U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California, San Diego)

  • Rosaura Tafoya-Estrada

    (University of California, Irvine)

  • Yang Sao Xiong

    (University of California, Los Angeles)

Abstract

This article highlights divergent pathways to mobility among members of the new second generation, identifies key mechanisms affecting the choices they make in their pursuit of success, and explains how specific choices were pivotal in determining outcomes of segmented assimilation. First, the authors evaluate definitions of success and pathways to social mobility, advancing a subject-centered approach to study second-generation mobility. Second, the article turns to the results from the authors' ongoing qualitative study of the new second generation in Los Angeles to examine cases that exemplify predictable and anomalous outcomes. Third, the authors zoom in on patterns that emerge from real-life histories to clarify key mechanisms affecting the decisions made by members of the second generation that are consequential in shaping their paths to mobility. The study dispels some enduring myths about group-based cultures, stereotypes, and processes of assimilation. It also advances theoretical debates about intergenerational mobility and immigrant incorporation.

Suggested Citation

  • Min Zhou & Jennifer Lee & Jody Agius Vallejo & Rosaura Tafoya-Estrada & Yang Sao Xiong, 2008. "Success Attained, Deterred, and Denied: Divergent Pathways to Social Mobility in Los Angeles's New Second Generation," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 620(1), pages 37-61, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:620:y:2008:i:1:p:37-61
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716208322586
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002716208322586
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0002716208322586?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James P. Smith, 2003. "Assimilation across the Latino Generations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 315-319, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Salvatore J. Restifo & Igor Ryabov & Bienvenido Ruiz, 2023. "Race, Gender, and Nativity in the Southwest Economy: An Intersectional Approach to Income Inequality," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(3), pages 1-32, June.
    2. Lingxin Hao & Suet-Ling Pong, 2008. "The Role of School in the Upward Mobility of Disadvantaged Immigrants' Children," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 620(1), pages 62-89, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sharron Xuanren Wang & Arthur Sakamoto, 2021. "Can Higher Education Ameliorate Racial/Ethnic Disadvantage? An Analysis of the Wage Assimilation of College-Educated Hispanic Americans," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, April.
    2. Fernando Borraz & Susan Pozo & Máximo Rossi, 2008. "And What About the Family Back Home? International Migration and Happiness," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0308, Department of Economics - dECON.
    3. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2009. "Ancestry versus ethnicity: the complexity and selectivity of Mexican identification in the United States," Research in Labor Economics, in: Ethnicity and Labor Market Outcomes, pages 31-66, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    4. Sweetman, A. & van Ours, J.C., 2014. "Immigration : What About the Children and Grandchildren?," Discussion Paper 2014-009, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    5. Francisca M. Antman & Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2020. "Ethnic attrition, assimilation, and the measured health outcomes of Mexican Americans," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 1499-1522, October.
    6. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2015. "Assessing the Socioeconomic Mobility and Integration of U.S. Immigrants and Their Descendants," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 657(1), pages 108-135, January.
    7. Brian Duncan & Stephen Trejo, 2006. "Ethnic Identification, Intermarriage, and Unmaresured Progress by Mexican Americans," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 0602, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    8. Dustmann, Christian & Glitz, Albrecht, 2011. "Migration and Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 327-439, Elsevier.
    9. Kate Choi, 2014. "Fertility in the context of Mexican migration to the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(24), pages 703-738.
    10. Bönke Timm & Neidhöfer Guido, 2018. "Parental Background Matters: Intergenerational Mobility and Assimilation of Italian Immigrants in Germany," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 1-31, February.
    11. Alicia Adserà & Ana Ferrer, 2014. "Immigrants and Demography: Marriage, Divorce, and Fertility," Working Papers 1401, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2014.
    12. Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2007. "Ethnic Identification, Intermarriage, and Unmeasured Progress by Mexican Americans," NBER Chapters, in: Mexican Immigration to the United States, pages 229-268, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Lu, Yao & Qin, Lijian, 2014. "Healthy migrant and salmon bias hypotheses: A study of health and internal migration in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 41-48.
    14. Reichl Luthra, Renee & Soehl, Thomas, 2014. "Who assimilates? Statistical artefacts and intergenerational mobility in immigrant families," ISER Working Paper Series 2014-28, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    15. Gordon H Hanson & Craig McIntosh, 2010. "The Great Mexican Emigration," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(4), pages 798-810, November.
    16. Tomás R. Jiménez, 2018. "Tracking a Changing America across the Generations after Immigration," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 677(1), pages 119-130, May.
    17. Wen-Jen Tsay, 2006. "The educational attainment of second-generation mainland Chinese immigrants in Taiwan," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 19(4), pages 749-767, October.
    18. James P. Smith & Liam Delaney, 2015. "Acquiring Human Capital through the Generations by Migration," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(4), pages 564-600.
    19. Francisca M. Antman & Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2023. "Hispanic Americans in the Labor Market: Patterns over Time and across Generations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 169-198, Winter.
    20. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2007. "Gender and Assimilation among Mexican Americans," NBER Chapters, in: Mexican Immigration to the United States, pages 57-106, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:620:y:2008:i:1:p:37-61. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.