Immigration, poverty and socioeconomic inequality

How does immigration affect poverty trends and socioeconomic inequality? How are the children of immigrants integrated into American society? What role do public policies play in shaping the experiences of immigrants and their participation in social programs? Immigration, poverty and socioeconomic inequality effectively addresses these three complex questions while providing original insights into the enduring impact of post1965 immigration on American society. This volume contains four main parts, with a total of 13 chapters addressing four related themes: the impact of immigration on poverty via competition, segregation, and dispersion; the relationships among immigration, poverty, and intergenerational mobility; the relationship between public policy and poverty; and the immigrant experience in Europe. Parts I–III focus exclusively on the USA, whereas the final chapter, in Part IV, provides a comparative look into the European context. In light of the public debate and mounting concern over the ‘social problems’ associated with immigration, a few key findings are worth emphasizing. First, the impact of immigrant workers on native workers’ wages is minimal. Second, the effect of immigration on the poverty rate of natives is rather small in both old and new immigrant destinations. Third, there is significant mobility across immigrant generations, although there is equally significant diversity in the pace of assimilation across groups. Finally, lack of legal status negatively affects the children of immigrants – especially among Mexicans – pointing to the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Immigration, poverty and socioeconomic inequality has several strengths. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach, drawing broadly from economics, demography, geography, sociology, and public policy to provide a well-rounded assessment of the impact of immigration on American and European societies. The volume brings together a stellar group of both junior and senior scholars, resulting in a balanced, fascinating, and multifaceted set of empirical analyses and findings. It also takes advantage of the respective disciplines’ strengths. Whereas the chapters by economists, demographers, and geographers provide an overview of broad social trends, those from sociologists and policy experts present detailed analyses of the social and historical processes that underlie these trends. The volume makes use of a variety of data sources and methods, including census, administrative, survey, interview data, ethnographic work, and historical and policy analyses. Taken together, these sources are impressive in both range and scope, illuminating trends over five decades. To the editors’ and the authors’ credit, this massive amount of data is not only effectively integrated but also judiciously interpreted, with a sharp focus on the findings’ implications regarding poverty and inequality. Journal of Children and Poverty, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10796126.2014.890095