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Title: High Hopes and the Highway: The Influence of Expectations on Migrant Occupational Attainment
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Curtis, Katherine J.
High Hopes and the Highway: The Influence of Expectations on Migrant Occupational Attainment
Presented: Washington, DC, Population Association of America Meetings, March 2001
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Duncan-Blau Survey; Earnings; Economic Changes/Recession; Economics of Gender; Economics, Regional; Job Aspirations; Job Promotion; Job Status; Migration; Occupational Aspirations; Occupational Status

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Research has found that migration between communities in the United States is associated with disproportionate gains in occupational status for men, either across generations or within the same lifetime. The reasons for this relationship are ambiguous, although some of the occupational gains are due to high levels of educational attainment among migrants. Others suspect a high level of psychological imitative (Blau and Duncan, 1967). Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) are used to focus on one measure of initiative, subjective occupational expectations in late adolescence, as an explanation of migrant status gains for both men and women. In addition to initiative or expectations, the effects of socioeconomic and geographic characteristics on occupational attainment are considered. Results suggest that the influences of expectations may operate through educational and, depending on the measure of occupational attainment, effects vary by gender and geographic context.
Bibliography Citation
Curtis, Katherine J. "High Hopes and the Highway: The Influence of Expectations on Migrant Occupational Attainment." Presented: Washington, DC, Population Association of America Meetings, March 2001.