The American dream revisited: intergenerational education mobility in immigrant household

YipingWua,JinghongZhoub,*,JulanDuc

ABSTRACT

This study uses American Community Survey microdata from 2005 to 2019 to investigate the interactive effect ofparents' education and immigrant status on their children's economic and education outcomes. We find a sig-nificant positive correlation between the education achievements of parents and those of their children, whichdiminishes for immigrant parents. However, the low transmisibility likely reflects the upward mobility ofimmigrant children, who may surpass their parents' and native children's education levels, despite starting fromsimilar or lower educational baselines. The influence of immigrant parents' education on their children's out-comes is complex, involving parental nurturing, pecuniary constraints, socioeconomic disparities, foreigncredential non-recognition, language barriers and cultural hurdles. Our findings present a nuanced picture.While the translation of educational mobility into broader economic mobility remains incomplete, there is apositive association between educational mobility and labor income mobility. Importantly, the analysis revealssubstantial heterogeneity across immigrant subgroups. Distinct pattemns emerge between immigrants fromdeveloped and developing countries, and intergenerational mobility outcomes also vary by parental race-particularly in families with Black fathers. These findings shed light on the challenges and implications ofimmigrant parents' education for their children's outcomes and emphasize the need to address these uniqueobstacles to secure the success of future generations.

Keywords:

Intergenerationaleducationmobility    Immigranthouseholds    UnitedStates    Educationattainmen