Social Forces

👀Americans who experience downward mobility are more likely to attribute inequality to structural processes, while those who rise are more likely to reject structural explanations. NEW: @UM_PSC's Sofia Hiltner and @CechErin in @SF_Journal. Full abstract below ⬇️ academic.oup.com/sf/advance-art… Abstract Popular explanations of inequality as the result of individual failings rather than structural processes are powerful cultural mechanisms that legitimize and reproduce inequality in the United States. How might individuals’ experiences of downward or upward mobility shape the explanations they give? We argue that perceived experiences of economic mobility may not only shape how Americans understand economic inequality but may also impact their beliefs about social inequalities more broadly. Using proportionally representative survey data of 1110 U.S. residents, we find that those who perceive that they currently occupy a lower economic class than when they were growing up (i.e., they experienced subjective downward mobility) were more likely than class-stable individuals to reject individualistic explanations of economic inequality and embrace structural ones. By contrast, the upwardly mobile were more likely to reject structural explanations. We find that mobility is similarly related to the likelihood of giving individualistic or structural explanations for race and gender inequality as well. Downward mobility is also associated with greater support of redistributive policies related to economic as well as gender and race inequality. These findings suggest that economic mobility may influence popular explanations of inequality and support for redistributive policy not only related to class inequality but for multiple axes of inequality. @UMSociology @umisr

Drawing on post-apartheid political settlement literature + sociological theories of opportunity hoarding, authors explain how a small White minority and new Black middle class monopolized access to South Africa’s most prestigious schools following the end of segregation in '94.

Opportunity Hoarding and Elite Reproduction: School Segregation in Post-Apartheid South Africa "In South Africa, elite capture of the high-performing schools reproduces race and class privilege." By Rob J. Gruijters, Benjamin Elbers and Vijay Reddy. doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…

New: Work Experience and Mental Health from Adolescence to Mid-Life 11 waves of data from a cohort of 9th graders followed to age 45–46 examines whether key psychological dimensions indicative of mental health change in response to employment. academic.oup.com/sf/advance-art…

Loya shows that loan rejections and high-cost loan originations are highest among Blacks and Latinos across debt-to-income levels compared to White applicants. These trends are particularly true when examining high-cost loan originations. Read more here: doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…

The mortgage industry is central to ethno-racial stratification in homeownership access. Studies have documented disadvantages Black/Latino homebuyers face, but they've been limited in examining credit worthiness. @loya_jose with new trends ⬇️ doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…

Throwback to a 2018 paper: The Persuasive Power of Protest. How Protest wins Public Support How do protest actions succeed in winning public support? In this paper, Wouters theorizes how features of protest can persuade citizens to support demonstrators. doi.org/10.1093/sf/soy…

Orit Avishai’s Queer Judaism entrenches readers in the world of strongly devoted Zionist Jews who inhabit illegal West Bank settlements—and who are LGBT. Read a review of “Queer Judaism: LGBT Activism and the Remaking of Jewish Orthodoxy in Israel” here: doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…

The effectiveness of near-cash benefits is salient among Black kids + kids of single mothers. New evidence to inform policy discussions surrounding best ways to help socioeconomically disadvantaged families retain benefits + smooth income/earnings. ⬇️ doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…

More: Black + Hispanic children + those living with unpartnered single mothers faced much higher variability in household market hours worked. Hispanic children experienced not only greater volatility in their caregivers’ work hours but also higher poverty level.

This paper examines how intra-year work-hour volatility is related to child poverty. Findings: in-kind benefits are more effective in buffering household income declines resulting from unstable work hours, followed by tax transfers and cash benefits. >> doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…

Though Black boys and girls have similar family backgrounds, results suggest that Black girls have an advantage in educational attainment due in part to their lower levels of exposure to exclusionary school discipline + criminal justice system. Read: doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…

After examining the long-term association between punishment and the Black gender gap using data from the Children of the NLSY 1979 cohort, authors find that about one third of the gender gap can be explained by gender differences in experiences with institutional punishments.

Black men and women have different levels of average educational attainment, yet few studies have focused on explaining how and why these patterns develop. Could inequality in experiences with institutional punishment through exclusionary school discipline explain this?

Policy Effects on Mixed-Citizenship, Same-Sex Unions: After 2013, individuals in mixed-citizenship, same-sex couples coming from countries with progressive LGB policies saw a more than 60% increase in incidence relative to those in different-sex or same-citizenship couples.

Same-sex partners of US citizens became eligible for spousal visas after 2013. This study examines how the policy environment of the origin country moderates the effect of the end of DOMA on incidence of mixed-citizenship, same-sex couples in the US. doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…

Authors find immigrant concentration reduces 311 requests in high-immigrant neighborhoods with Latino or Black concentration, but not in high-immigrant neighborhoods with White/Asian concentration. Read more: doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…

This study explores the link between immigrant concentration and 311 usage using longitudinal data on 311 requests in Baltimore City, Maryland (2014–2019). (Spatial panel regression analysis on neighborhood racial/ethnic structure + national policy environment)

U.S. communities increasingly rely on 311 systems for residents to request government services. So can 311 help bridge the gap between disadvantaged communities and governments?

Are High-Immigrant Neighborhoods Disadvantaged in Seeking Local Government Services? The study contributes to a deeper understanding of civic participation and the connection between immigrant communities and government. Here: doi.org/10.1093/sf/soa…