Do second-generation Asian Americans face a systematic disadvantage in occupational attainment? Comment on Tran, Lee and Huang

Arthur Sakamoto*, Li Hsu

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    8 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We critically review and discuss several methodological problems with their analysis. Their definition of the occupational hierarchy is unclear, and their inadequate statistical models exacerbate the vagueness of their results. They ignore gender interactions, and the age range of their target population seems too narrow for their research concerns. Their interpretation of their own statistical findings on occupational attainment is fundamentally flawed although they refuse to acknowledge it. Their reported results cannot be replicated based on the information that they are willing to reveal about their analysis which suggests additional, undisclosed errors. In our reanalysis of their data using more appropriate methods, we find that rather than being systematically disadvantaged, the occupational attainment of most second-generation Asian Americans has either achieved parity with whites or has exceeded them after controlling for age, educational level, and survey year.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)516-532
    Number of pages17
    JournalEthnic and Racial Studies
    Volume43
    Issue number3
    Early online date6 Jan 2020
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 19 Feb 2020

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Cultural Studies
    • Anthropology
    • Sociology and Political Science

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Asian Americans
    • glass ceiling
    • occupational attainment
    • racial discrimination
    • racial inequality
    • second-generation

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