Ramón Borges-Méndez Economics/Public Policy

Political Economy 602

POLITICAL ECONOMY III

Spring 2007 Tuesday 9:00-11:30

Ramón Borges-Méndez Economics/Public Policy

617- 287-6935

This third section of the course introduces you to political economic theories of race, ethnicity and public policy. Racial and ethnic stratification have been and continue to be a critical cleavage point in U.S. society (and elsewhere) and an enduring theme in the social sciences literature. In 1903 -- the beginning of the 20th century -- W.E.B. Dubois declared “The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line.” At around the same time, the social sciences were establishing distinct disciplines and much of early sociology was devoted to analyzing and understanding the then new immigrants and the “Negro.” After WWII, world wide attention is drawn to race and genocide with the eruption of anti-colonial and civil rights struggles. In the United States, by the 1950s race and ethnicity (as embodied in immigrants) seem to diverge. Early 1900’s immigrants, except Asians, who were then viewed as not white became “white” but more attention was paid to their ethnicity. Immigration slowed considerably in the 1920s through the 1960s (with the exception of the “bracero” program which brought Mexican low-wage farm workers to and from California and other western states, and Puerto Ricans [US Citizens] to the northeast). The question of race in the United States in the 1950s focuses almost exclusively on African Americans, who were migrating in large numbers from the south to the industrial cities in the north and mid-west. Protest movements spur race-based and income-based policies as well as a change in ideology and theories about the causes of racial and ethnic inequality in the 1960s through the1980s. Since that time, many of those polices and theories about racial inequality have been under attack and at the same time there has been a new and continual wave of immigrants to the United States – decidedly darker skinned than those of a century ago – complicating the issues including theories, analysis, and policies concerning race and ethnic relations and differences. As we begin the 21st century, racial and ethnic divides – including inequality -- persist but have clearly taken on new forms.

The syllabus is divided in three sections. Section I contains a historical introduction on the origin of migrants, and ethnic and racial minorities in the USA. The emphasis is on differential conditions of emigration, reception and incorporation. The other two sessions on Section I cover the theories of assimilation, its variants and contending views. Section II is dedicated to examine the theoretical explanations for the existence and persistence of racial and ethnic inequality in urban America, especially in key policy areas: housing, education and the labor markets. [Due to time limitations and given my expertise, we do cover health disparities.] In final Section III we will examine the impact recent immigration has had on thinking about race and ethnic inequality, and in the formation and community development outcomes of racial and ethnic communities in American cities. We close Section III with a session on immigration and globalization, focusing on new forms of racism and the turning of immigration into a “national security problem”.

Students will be required to write two papers and provide comments on weekly readings. Papers will be due April 17 and May 15. One paper (5-7 pages) will require critical analysis of readings. The second paper will have an applied emphasis. Details will follow.

I History, Assimilation, and Contesting Views

March 13: Why are we here? History and the Economic Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

Bodnar, John. (1985). The Transplanted: A History of Immigrants in Urban America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Chapter 1: The Homeland and Capitalism, pp. 1-56; Chapter 2: Families Enter America, pp.57-84.

Hing, Bill Ong.(1993). Making and Remaking Asian America Through Immigration Policy, 1850-1990. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. Chapter 1.

Suárez-Orozco, Marcelo M.& Mariela M. Páez. (2002). Latinos Remaking America. Berkeley: The University of California Press. Introduction: The Research Agenda.

Wilson, William Julius. (1980). The Declining Significance of Race. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Chapters 2, 3, 4.

March 20: Spring Break

March 27: Assimilation: Maybe or Maybe Not.

Alba, Richard & Victor Nee. (2003). Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. (Chapters to be Assigned).

Geschwender, James. (1978). Racial Stratification in America. Dubuque: C. Brown and Co. Chapters 2-3.

Glazer, Nathan & Daniel Patrick Moynihan. (1970). Beyond the Melting Pot (2nd Edition). Cambridge: MIT Press. “The Puerto Ricans”. pp.86-136.

Gordon, Milton. (1964). Assimilation in American Life. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 60-83.

Huntington, Samuel P. (2004). “The Hispanic Challenge”. Foreign Policy. March/April, 2004. pp.30-45.

April 3: Contesting Assimilation: Multiple Perspectives

Barrera, Mario. (1979). Race and Class in the Southwest: A Theory of Racial Inequality. South Bend: Notre Dame University Press. Chapter 7.

Blauner, Robert. (1972). Robert Blauner, “Colonized and Immigrant Minorities,” in Yetman and Steele (eds) Racial Oppression in America, New York: Harper and Row 1972. 51-75.

Darity, William. (1998). “Intergroup Disparity: Economic Theory and Social Science Evidence,” Southern Economic Journal 1998, 64(4), 805-826.

Omi, Michael & Howard Winant. (1986). Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960’s to the 1980’s. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 9-54.

Portes, Alejandro & Zhou, Min. (1993). “ The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and Its Variants.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol.530, Interminority Affairs in the US: Pluralismat the Crossroads. (Nov.,1993), pp 74-96.

II Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the Economy: Housing, Education and the Labor Market

April 10: Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the Economy: Housing and Spatial Segregation

Borjas, George. (2002). “Homeownership in the Immigrant Population.” Research Institute for Housing America.

Flippen, Chenoa. (2004) “Unequal Returns to Housing Investments? A Study of Real Housing Appreciation among Blacks, White and Hispanic Households.” Social Forces, June 2004, 82 (4): 1523-1551.

Krivo, Lauren J. & Robert L. Kaufman. (2004). “Housing and Wealth Inequality: Racial-Ethnic Differences in Home Equity in the United States.” Demography, Vol.41, No.3, (August,2004): 585-605.

Logan, John R., Stults, Brian J., & Farley, Reynolds. (2004). “Segregation of Minorities in the Metropolis: Two Decades of Change.” Demography, Vol.41, No.1 (Feb., 2004), pp. 1-22.

Massey, Douglas S. & Nancy Denton. (1998). “The Dimensions of Residential Segregation.” Social Forces, Vol. 67, No. 2 (Dec.,1988), pp.281-315.

Stone, Michael. (2006). “ Housing Affordability for Households of Color in Massachusetts.” Mauricio Gaston Institute\Institute for Asian American Studies\Trotter Institute. UMASS-Boston.

April 17: Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the Economy: Education

Baker, Therese L. & Velez, William.( 1996). “Access and Opportunity in Postsecondary Education in the United States: A Review.” Sociology of Education, Vol. 69, Extra Issue: Special Issue on Sociology and Educational Policy: Bringing Scholarship and Practice Together. (1996), pp.82-101.

Feliciano, Cynthia. (2005). “Educational Selectivity in US Immigration: How Do Immigrants Compare to Those Left Behind?” Demography, Vol. 42, No.1, February 2005: 131-152.

Portes, Alejandro & MacLeod, Dag. (1996). “Educational Progress of Children of Immigrants: The Roles of Class, Ethnicity and School Context.” Sociology of Education, Vol.69, No.4. (Oct., 1996), pp. 225-275.

Reardon Sean F., Yun, John T. & Eitle, Tamela Mcnulty. (2000). “The Changing Structure of School Segregation: Measurement and Evidence of Multiracial Metropolitan-Area School Segregation, 1989-1995.” Demography, Vol. 37, No. 3. (August, 2000), pp.351-364.

April 24: Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the Economy: The Labor Market

Cain, Glenn G. (1976). “The Challenge of Segmented Labor Market Theories to Orthodox Theory: A Survey.” Journal of Economic Literature, Vol.14, No.4. (Dec.,1976), pp.1215-1257.

Harrison, Bennett. (1972). “Education and Underemployment in the Urban Ghetto.” The American Economic Review, Vol. 62, No. 5 (Dec., 1972), pp. 796-812.

Stoll, Michael & Raphael, Steve. (2000). “Racial Differences in Spatial Job Search Patterns: Exploring the Cause and Consequences.” Economic Geography, Vol. 76, No. (Jul, 2000), pp. 201-223.

Waldinger, Roger. (2001). “Up from Poverty? ‘Race’,Immigration, and the Fate of Low-Skilled Workers.” In Strangers at the Gates: New Immigrants in Urban America, Roger Waldinger, ed. Berkeley: University of California Press.

III Race and Ethnicity in the Making of the American City: Political Machines, Ghettos, Ethnic Enclaves and the New Immigration

May 1: Race and Ethnicity in the Politics of the Inner City

Colburn, David R. (2001). “Running for Office: African-American Mayors from 1967 to 1996.” In African American Mayors: Race, Politics and the American City. David R Colburn & Jeffrey S. Adler, eds. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Domhoff, William G. (2005). “The Ford Foundation in the Inner City: Forging an Alliance with Neighborhood Activists.” This document's URL: http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/ford_foundation.html

Jones-Correa, Michael. (2001). “Structural Shifts and Institutional Capacity: Possibilities for Ethnic Cooperation and Conflict in Urban Settings.” In Governing American Cities: Inter-Ethnic Coalitions, Competition and Conflict. Michael Jones-Correa, ed. Russell Foundation. NY:NY. (pp.183-209).

Pettigrew, Thomas. (1999). “Review: Sociological Analyses Confront Fashionable Racial Fallacies.” Sociological Forum, Vol.14, No.1. (Mar.1999), pp.177-184.

Schuman, Tony & Elliot Sclar. (1996). “ Review: Race and the City.” Journal of Architectural Education, Vol. 49, No.4 (May,1996), pp.259-263.

May 8: Chinatowns, Barrios, Ghettos, Immigrant/Ethnic Enclaves

Borges-Mendez, Ramon. (2007). “The Latinization of Lawrence : Migration Settlement, and Incorporation of Latinos in a Small Town of Massachusetts.” In Latinos in a Changing Society. Marta Montero-Sieburth & Edwin Melendez, eds. Westport: Praeger.

Cutler, David, M., Glaeser, Edward L. & Vigdor, Jacob L. (1999). “ The Rise and Decline of the American Ghetto.” The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 107, No.3. (June.,1999), pp.455-506.

Hum, Tarry.(2006). “ New York City’s Asian Immigrant Economies: Community Development Needs and Challenges.” In Jobs and Economic Development in Minority Communities. Paul Ong & Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, eds. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Wilson, Kenneth L. & Portes, Alejandro. (1980). “ Immigrant Enclaves: An Analysis of the Labor Market Experience in Miami.” The American Journal of Sociology, Vol.86, No.2 (Sep.1980), pp.295-319.

May 15: The New Immigration, Globalization and National Security, and The New Forms of Racism

Adamson, Fiona B. (2006). “Crossing Borders: International Migration and National Security.” International Security, Vol.31, No.1 (Summer 2006). Pp.165-199.

Forman, Tyrone.(2004). “Color-Blind Racism and Racial Indifference: The Role of Racial Apathy in Facilitating Enduring Inequalities.” In The Changing Terrain of Race and Ethnicity. Maria Krysan & Amanda Lewis, eds. New York: The Russell Sage Foundation. 2004.

Portes, Alejandro. (1997). “Globalization from Below: The Rise of Transnational Communities.” WPTC-98-01. Princeton University.

Portes, Alejandro. (1997). “Immigration Theory for a New Century: Some Problems and Opportunities.” International Migration Review, Vol.31, No.4, Special Issue: Immigrant Adaptation and Native-Born Responses in the Making of Americans. (Winter, 1997), pp. 799-825.

Suarez-Orozco, Marcelo M. & Qin-Hilliard, Baolian Desiree. (2004). Globalization: Culture and Education in the New Millenium. Berkeley: The University of California Press. Chapter 1.