Socioeconomic adaptation of immigrants from mainland Southeast Asia: An intergenerational analysis

Constituting a sizable segment of the post-1965 U.S. immigrant population, Southeast Asian (SEA) immigrants and refugees represent one of the most economically disadvantaged groups arriving in the United States. This study investigates the socioeconomic standings of this immigrant group and the second-generation decline hypothesis. Intergenerational progress on human capital and earnings is expected to occur among Southeast Asian immigrant generations as predicted by the straight-line assimilation theory. Three indicators of socioeconomic adaptation (educational attainment, labor force participation, and income) are examined among Southeast Asian immigration cohorts and generations based on pooled data from the Current Population Surveys (CPS) of 1994–2001. The study also explores relevant factors as to cohort disparities in socioeconomic adaptation.;Supporting the prediction of the straight-line assimilation theory, the results show that early cohorts have higher levels of educational attainment and labor force participation than do recent cohorts, controlling for theoretically relevant factors. However, the effect of immigration cohort on income and earnings is not significant, indicating that the cohort disparity in income and earnings is due to cohort differences in educational levels and labor force participation.;Furthermore, the educational attainment and labor force participation of the second generation of SEA immigrants are found to be greater than those for the recent immigration cohort but lower than for the early immigration cohort. The major intergenerational disparity is associated with the levels of education. Given that significant numbers of the second generation are young and have at least some college years of schooling, they may acquire a sufficient human capital for successful participation in the U.S. labor market. Additionally, the intergenerational disparity in labor force participation suggests that the second-generation decline hypothesis is applicable to SEA second-generation men only. The labor force participation was lower for the second-generation men than for immigrant men, while the reverse was true for women. Further findings, discussions, limitations, and implications of the study for both straight-line and segmented assimilation theories are provided.