Date of Award
Spring 2024
Degree
MA
Advisor
Fernando Rios-Avila, PhD
Abstract
This research examines what factors influence the occupational structure of Asian and Latin American immigrants in the United States, focusing on 2002 and 2022. It seeks to understand how levels of education, citizenship status, and other factors impact where each group ends up in the occupational hierarchy. Using data from monthly IPUMS-CPS, a multinomial logit regression model is applied to analyze the change in the occupational category between these two years. The findings reveal a significant disparity in occupational outcomes between the groups, with educational attainment and citizenship being the two most important factors that explain the gap, though not entirely eliminating it. Latin Americans were more often found in lower-skilled categories, indicating continued occupational segregation, whereas Asians were more likely to be found in professional and managerial positions, indicating a higher place within the occupational hierarchy. The situation for Latin Americans has not improved much over the past 20 years; on the contrary, it has worsened with a greater concentration in lower-level occupational categories compared to 2002.
Access Control
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Zada, Masooma Hassan, "The Impact of Asian and Latin American Immigrants on U.S. Occupational Class Structure" (2024). Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy. 54.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/levy_ms/54