Suzanne Model

Still the Promised City: African-Americans and New Immigrants in Postindustrial New York

Roger Waldinger offers an explanation based on analysis of 1940-1990 census data and interviews with employers, workers, and union officials in several industries. In an argument sustained through nine chapters, he describes how the postwar outflow of whites created large numbers of job openings at all skill levels. Vacancies appeared even in shrinking manufacturing industries as whites left at a faster rate than labor demand declined. Despite often weak English-language and educational skills, foreign-born newcomers have won a disproportionate share of these openings. But they have not done so by directly displacing native blacks out of their jobs. Contrary to the influential skills mismatch hypothesis, Waldinger shows that African-American New Yorkers never had much of a presence in manufacturing and were becoming even more underrepresented in that sector long before immigration accelerated in the 1970s. In fact, the industrial distributions of native blacks and nonwhite immigrants have seldom overlapped. He also finds little evidence to support claims that the availability of immigrant labor has indirectly displaced natives by enabling employers to keep wages and working conditions at unattractive levels. For example, real wages in apparel began their long stagnation in the low-immigration 1950s. Likewise, in hotels the fast job and real wage growth in recent years has not stopped the seepage of native blacks from an industry in which they were overrepresented from the 1940s through the seventies.

Caribbean Immigrants: A Black Success Story?.

This article examines the 1980 earnings and earnings attainment process of Afro-Caribbean immigrants relative to Afro-Americans, native-born whites and foreign-born whites. Controlling for gender, the comparisons consider Caribbean Islanders as a whole and disaggregated by nation of origin. The results indicate that, in 1980 at least, fact did not justify the opinion that any West Indian subgroup had higher gross or net earnings than native-born blacks. Rather, a few non-English speaking subgroups fared worse. In addition, regardless of national background, Caribbean-born men experienced vast earnings disparities relative to white men. This was not the case for West Indian women, whose net earnings were, at minimum, equivalent to those of white women. Further analysis suggests that, for most Caribbean groups, West Indian background adds little to an understanding of the earnings attainment process that cannot be obtained from other measurable characteristics.

Housework by Husbands Determinants and Implications

WOMEN continue to carry disproportionate responsibility for household tasks. A study of 650 Detroit women reveals that attitudes, employment status, life cycle, and husbands income all contribute to husbands housework effort. Some evidence is presented that the greater the earnings differential of husband over wife, the less he contributes in help at home.

The Cost of Not Being Christian: Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims in Britain and Canada

This article compares foreign born Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims to native born white Christians on four economic outcomes in two nations: Britain and Canada. For Canada, our data come from the 1991 Census, for Britain from the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities (1994). Theory and research lead us to predict that, ceteris paribus, non-Christians will fare better in Canada on three of the four outcomes. In the main, however, this expectation does not hold up. Compared to their British counterparts, Canadas Muslims fare less well on labor force participation and Canadas Hindus and Sikhs less well on unemployment. Compared to their Canadian counterparts, British Muslims fare less well on unemployment. On occupation and earnings, we detect no cross-national differences. To explain the paucity of cross-national disparities, we draw on Reitzs argument that Canadas reputation as an attractive immigrant destination has been exaggerated. To explain the few differences we do find, we emphasize cross-national differences in religious discrimination and our inability to control adequately for differences in sending countries.

West Indian Prosperity: Fact or Fiction?

Both scholars and the public often express the opinion that, in the United States, West Indian Blacks are more economically successful than African Americans. This paper explores two dimensions of this hypothesis, labor force participation and earnings, for residents of the New York SMSA in 1970, 1980, and 1990. The outcomes of West Indian men and women, both foreign and native born, are compared to African American men and women. The results show West Indians typically have higher labor force participation, but earnings display a more complex pattern. Other things equal, the earnings of the foreign born surpass African American earnings only after the immigrants have spent some years in the United States, while the earnings of nativeborn West Indians are usually higher than those of native Blacks. These results are most consonant with the theory that immigrants are a positively selected population.

Unions between blacks and whites: England and the US compared

In this article, US and UK census data are used to compare the propensity for matches between blacks and native born whites in England and the US. Blacks are disaggregated into three ethnic groups: Black Caribbeans, Residual Blacks and, in the US, African Americans. The first group receives the most theoretical attention. Both raw percentages and parameters that control for several covariates - such as age, education and city of residence - are examined. The results indicate that, with or without controls and irrespective of ethnicity, blacks in Britain are significantly more likely to have a native born white partner than their US counterparts. These findings accord with assimilation theory, but the articles conclusion suggests that, in both countries, the assimilation of people of African descent operates differently from the assimilation of whites.

An occupational tale of two cities: minorities in London and New York.

In this paper, queuing theory is tested through an examination of the occupational attainment of six groups of non-whites in London and New York. Workers in the dominant economy are distinguished from those in the niche economy and emphasis is placed on the former. Black male immigrants in New York and black female immigrants in London hold more favorable occupational status. These results reflect differences in (1) the presence of indigenous minorities—African Americans and Puerto Ricans—in New York but not London, and (2) the relatively low position of indigenous minority males compared to the relatively middling position of indigenous minority females in New York:S labor queue.

Black Caribbeans in comparative perspective

Abstract This article compares the gap in socioeconomic well‐being between native‐born white persons and Black Caribbean immigrants in four nations: the USA, the UK, Canada and France. Theoretical considerations suggest that the gap will be smallest in France, followed by the USA. The data come from recent censuses and labour market surveys. Four labour market outcomes are considered: labour force participation, unemployment, occupational status and earnings. Each outcome is analysed using multi‐variate models which are estimated separately by gender and nation. A comparison of the size of the inter‐racial gap within genders and across nations reveals a pattern of cross‐national similarity, other things equal. The articles conclusion considers some reasons why the empirical analysis failed to support theoretical expectations. It appears that these reasons have as much to do with the shortcomings of cross‐national methodology as with the shortcomings of social science theory.

A Comparative Perspective on the Ethnic Enclave: Blacks, Italians, and Jews in New York City.

This article contributes to the growing literature maintaining that the ethnic enclave represents a distinct, third alternative to a dual economy. The data are interviews with 45 elderly, immigrant blacks, Jews and Italians from New York City. Two facets of the enclave are explored: determinants of job outcomes for employees and factors responsible for entrepreneurial viability. With regard to employees, the analysis shows enclave workers obtain job security and job status equivalent to openings in the primary sector. Investigation of the organization of ethnic entrepreneurship reveals that the mobilization of several factors unique to ethnicity enhances the competitiveness of minority firms.

Ethnic Economy and Industry in Mid-Twentieth Century Gotham

This paper uses census data to examine the distinction between ethnic economy effects and industry effects in the New York SMSA. Focusing only on employees, I compare the attainments of “insiders,” that is, of ethnics within their ethnic economy industries, with the attainment of “outsiders” in the same industries. I find little difference. I then examine whether the industries in which ethnic economies are embedded offer all incumbents significantly different outcomes than do non-ethnic economy industries. In slightly over half the industries associated with an ethnic economy, earnings were significantly higher than average; no effect on occupational status was uncovered. These results suggest that industrial location is more consequential than being an “insider.”