Immigrants' and their descendants' assimilations are old issues in the economic literature. However, they have mainly been investigated in terms of immigration economic efficiency and discriminations. At the same time, cultural assimilation is a recurrent issue in the public debate and particularly through the concepts of national and cultural identity. The identity theory came out in economics more than a decade ago. It allowed improving the understanding of individuals' decisions when they define themselves by their belonging to one or more groups to which behaving norms are attached. Thanks to this theory, we explore to what extent cultural identity, seen as the expression of immigrants' cultural assimilation, allows improving the understanding of socioeconomic inequalities. We first highlight the importance of the family context and the educational attainment for the professional outcomes of first and second generations of immigrants. Then, we analyze the formation of the cultural identity. If ethnic identity diminishes with time since arrival in the host country, it also depends on the way it is measured. We exhibit a negative influence of ethnic identity on employment and voting participation but neutral on the wage level. Finally, thanks to a laboratory controlled experiment, we verify in a more general framework the significant role of group identity on individual behaviors.

As the best single-source collection of classic and contemporary readings on the subject, this anthology will be a valuable reference to scholars of immigration, race and ethnicity, national identity, and the history of ideas, and indispensable for courses in history and the social sciences dealing with these topics.' Ruben G. Rumbaut, co-author of Immigrant America: A Portrait and Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation Societies today are increasingly characterized by their ethnic, racial, and religious diversity. One key question raised by the global migration of people is how they do or do not come to be incorporated into their new social environments. For over a century, assimilation has been the concept used in explaining the processes of immigrant incorporation into a new society. It has also been applied to indigenous peoples, to refugees, and to involuntary migrants caught up in the slave trade. Assimilation has confronted many scholarly challenges which were often intermeshed with particular political agendas. This book allows readers to obtain a clearer sense of the canonical formulation of assimilation theory and an understanding of the key themes and issues contained in current efforts to rethink and revise the classical perspective for today's changing world.

The (not-so-strange) strangers in their midst -- Salsa and ketchup : cultural exposure and adoption -- Spotlight on white : fade to black -- Living with difference and similarity -- Living locally, thinking nationally

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, language: English, abstract: But then I came to the conclusion that no, while there may be an immigration problem, it isn't really a serious problem. The really serious problem is assimilation. - Samuel P. HuntingtonFrom its very beginnings, the United States has been an immigrant nation. It has been built on the shoulders of immigrants from every imaginable part of the world and, up to this day, is being sustained by the ancestors of these immigrants. I therefore agree with Samuel Huntington that immigration itself cannot be America's problem. However, Huntington's claim remains thatassimilation is the really serious problem. What exactly is wrong with assimilation? Does the kind of assimilation that we observe today work at all? Should ethnic minorities and immigrants assimilate more into mainstream American culture or would that be detrimental for them in a way that is not tolerable? The latter will be the central question I will be posing in this paper. On the one hand, one's immediate reaction to this central question might be a definite 'no, they should not assimilate'. 'No'because the term 'assimilation' somehow carries negative connotations of small-mindednessand nationalistic fervor, that one might be hesitant to support, 'no' because it seems impossible to streamline human beings to fit a certain image, and 'no' because it seems illogical that immigrants should have to assimilate to something that is so diverse as the American culture. On the other hand, today's American society surely is not fully integrated. In so many instances, socioeconomic, cultural, political, and linguistic gaps stretch all the way across the continent and disunite America. Considering these dangerous gaps and continuing immigration, assimilation might well be a necessity to ensure the survival of American society and peaceful co-existence of all its members. To solve the

Over the course of the 20th century, there have been three primary narratives of American national identity: the melting pot, Anglo-Protestantism, and cultural pluralism/multi-culturalism. This book offers a social and historical perspective on what shaped each of these imaginings, when each came to the fore, and which appear especially relevant early in the 21st century. These issues are addressed by looking at the United States and elite notions of the meaning of America across the 20th century, centering on the work of Horace Kallen, Nathan Glazer and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Samuel P. Huntington. Four structural areas are examined in each period: the economy, involvement in foreign affairs, social movements, and immigration. What emerges is a narrative arc whereby immigration plays a clear and crucial role in shaping cultural stories of national identity as written by elite scholars. These stories are represented in writings throughout all three periods, and in such work we see the intellectual development and specification of the dominant narratives, along with challenges to each. Important conclusions include a keen reminder that identities are often formed along borders both external and internal, that structure and culture operate dialectically, and that national identity is hardly a monolithic, static formation.

This innovative book applies contemporary and emergent theories of identity formation to timely questions of identity re/formation and development in immigrant families across diverse ethnicities and age groups. Researchers from across the globe examine the ways in which immigrants from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America dynamically adjust, adapt, and resist aspects of their identities in their host countries as a form of resilience. The book provides a multidisciplinary approach to studying the multidimensional complexities of identity development and immigration and offers critical insights on the experiences of immigrant families. Key areas of coverage include: Factors that affect identity formation, readjustment, and maintenance, including individual differences and social environments. Influences of intersecting immigrant ecologies such as family, community, and complex multidimensions of culture on identity development. Current identity theories and their effectiveness at addressing issues of ethnicity, culture, and immigration. Research challenges to studying various forms of identity. Re/Formation and Identity: The Intersectionality of Development, Culture, and Immigration is an essential resource for researchers, professors, and graduate students as well as clinicians, professionals, and policymakers in the fields of developmental, social, and cross-cultural psychology, parenting and family studies, social work, and all interrelated disciplines.

The growing importance of immigration in the United States today prompted this examination of the adequacy of U.S. immigration data. This volume summarizes data needs in four areas: immigration trends, assimilation and impacts, labor force issues, and family and social networks. It includes recommendations on additional sources for the data needed for program and research purposes, and new questions and refinements of questions within existing data sources to improve the understanding of immigration and immigrant trends.