Date of Award

1-1-2010

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Sociology

Content Description

1 online resource (vii, 314 pages) : illustrations, maps

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Zai Liang

Committee Members

Richard D Alba, Nancy A Denton

Keywords

Chinese immigrant, comparative research, ethnic economy, immigrant integration, labor market, Mexican immigrant, Chinese Americans, Chinese, Immigrants, Mexican Americans, Mexicans

Subject Categories

Asian American Studies | Demography, Population, and Ecology | Latin American Studies

Abstract

This dissertation research is a comparative study of the economic incorporation of the unskilled Chinese and Mexican immigrants in the United States. This comparative approach is justified by the fact that these two groups share striking similarities in human capital, social networks, and immigrant flow patterns, whereas they also differ significantly in their migration cost, transnational practice, and reception in the U.S. labor market. This research investigates three specific aspects of their labor market experience: participation in self-employment, job transition, and earnings growth. Essentially I hope to find out whether these immigrants can achieve economic mobility over time and in what forms. To explain the variation in immigrants' labor market performance, I examine the effects of a series of factors, including assimilation, transnationalism, and other factors pertaining to the contexts of exit and reception. One particular point of inquiry is immigrants' job placement in nontraditional destination areas and the economic consequences associated with that movement.

Download

Share

COinS