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The Socioeconomic Attainments of Second‐Generation Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans*
Author(s) -
Sakamoto Arthur,
Woo Hyeyoung
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.2007.00177.x
Subject(s) - vietnamese , socioeconomic status , disadvantaged , immigration , demographic economics , demography , census , educational attainment , geography , sociology , socioeconomics , economic growth , population , economics , philosophy , linguistics , archaeology
We investigate the socioeconomic attainments of second‐generation Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans. Using 2000 Census data, we focus on education, wages, and managerial/professional employment relative to African Americans and whites. The second‐generation Vietnamese stand out as having extraordinarily high average values on these indicators. By contrast, the socioeconomic attainments of second‐generation Cambodians, Hmong, and Laotians tend to be closer to those of African Americans except among those second‐generation Southeast Asians who are clearly part of the earlier (i.e., Wave 1) immigration stream that tended to have somewhat higher socioeconomic origins. The most disadvantaged groups are non‐Wave 1 second‐generation Laotians and Cambodian women, particularly in terms of the process of educational attainment. The results are interpreted as indicating the importance of class origins and immigrant selectivity.