Harvey Marshall

Urban Structure and the Differentiation Between Blacks and Whites

In this study some of the determinants of black assimilation into large United States cities are examined. Assimilation is treated as a multidimensional phenomenon, the various dimensions of which are attributes of organized populations. A structural model is developed and analyzed, using the technique of path analysis, in which other attributes of urban social structures are related to the various dimensions of assimilation. Analysis suggests that the dimensions of assimilation are causally interrelated, with educational assimilation a major determinant of income assimilation, both directly and indirectly through its effects upon occupational assimilation. However, other attributes of organized urban populations also make important direct and indirect contributions to assimilation. Of special importance is percent of the citys population that is black and the rate of black population growth. Surprisingly, ghettoization is not very important causally when compared with other variables in the system, a significant negative finding in view of current emphasis upon this factor. This analysis suggests that greater attention be paid to organizational dimensions of urban populations as a means of specifying the processes underlying the assimilation of blacks.

Market conditions, productivity, and promotion among university faculty

This paper contrasts the performance levels and promotion experiences of 371 faculty members under three different market conditions reflecting the supply and demand for university faculty (buyers market, sellers market, and stable market). The central questions examined are, What is the effect of market conditions upon (1) the length of time it takes for promotion; (2) the promotion rate; (3) the productivity of assistant and associate professors before each promotion; and (4) the productivity of full professors after attaining that rank? Findings are most consistent with a market model indicating that faculty promoted during a buyers market remain in rank longer before being promoted and exhibit a greater rate of productivity than faculty promoted during other market conditions. There is also support for the elite model in that the impact of “tight” market conditions on productivity is greatest for faculty below the rank of full professor.

HIDDEN DEVIANCE AND THE LABELLING APPROACH: THE CASE FOR DRINKING AND DRIVING*

In this study we attempt to explain the over-representation of certain social categories—such as blacks or lower-class males—in official conviction statistics for drinking-driving. Two alternative perspectives are examined. The first, or “impartial” model, suggests that the probability of conviction is determined primarily by the degree and/or frequency of deviance. According to the second, or “labelling” model, this probability is at least partly independent of degree or frequency. In general, our findings are consistent with the latter model, although some support is also given to the “impartial” model as well.

The use of public transportation in urban areas: Toward a causal model

In this study, using the statistical models recently introduced by Goodman, we analyze the reasons why individuals choose the car or public transportation for the journey to work and draw out some of the implications of our analysis for public policy. Building on the work of Schnore, we develop a model in which both structural and individual variables are interrelated and show that the structural contexts within which individuals make decisions about their choice are crucial. We also show that, while status differentials are largely accounted for by income differences, male preferences for the automobile tend not to be due either to the structural variables or to income differences. Our findings suggest that present policies designed to induce people to shift to public transportation for the journey to work are not likely to be effective, since they do nothing to alter present cost differentials between the two modes.

Agricultural Specialization and Economic Growth

Abstract This paper tests hypotheses derived from traditional economic theory and world systems/dependency theory on the effects of agricultural export specialization on economic growth in the Third World. The data are consistent with the latter since degree of such specialization is negatively related to per capita GNP growth between 1970 and 1980, a trend especially pronounced in relatively well-off peripheral countries.

An alternate test of the minority status and fertility relation

This study examines the relation between relative group size and the family sizes of white, Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino Americans. The concern is with the generality of Days (1968) explanation for the fertility of Catholic minorities residing in countries other than the United States. Here we apply the perspective to the United States-a large, heterogenous country in which minority status is defined along racial-ethnic lines rather than principally by religious affiliation. The family sizes of each minority, where it is a relatively small proportion of the state population, are compared with a state where each group is a relatively large proportion, adjusting for appropriate compositional differences.

Migration and Income: The Case of Engineers

This paper presents an analysis of the relative utility of three competing (but related) hypotheses regarding the factors which are thought to cause the higher incomes of migrants compared with nonmigrants. Data are derived from a larger study of engineers and a multiple regression technique is used to decompose the difference between the mean income scores of migrants and nonmigrants. Support is demonstrated for two of the hypotheses: (I) that migrants are selected in terms of attributes conducive to success and (2) that migrants are disproportionately located in areas where opportunity structures are superior. No consistent pattern of interaction is demonstrable. The implications of these findings for mobility research are discussed. I n this study we analyze the link between migration and income for engineers. Although it is well documented that migrants in general are more successful than nonmigrants, there is some debate over the causes of this differential. In particular, there are three competing hypotheses: that migrants move from areas where opportunities are relatively scarce to those where they are relatively abundant; that they have more ability than nonmigrants; and, finally, that willingness to migrate permits an individual better to capitalize on his or her education, experience, etc. Our major concern is with the relative contribution of each of these causes to the income differential between migrants and nonmigrants. In addition to this demographic analysis, we are also concerned with specification of some of the factors which affect the career mobility of engineers. Our focus upon a single occupation is somewhat unusual. That is, we analyze only engineers and ask about the impact of migration upon income within this group. A more frequent strategy is comparison of a sample drawn from the entire range of occupations, using differences in occupational prestige as the measure of the impact of migration (cf. Blau and Duncan, 1967; Duncan, Featherman and Duncan, 1972). Such analyses indicate that the average occupational prestige scores of migrants are considerably higher than those of nonmigrants.