How Far the Apple Falls: The Role of Culture on Second-Generation Educational Attainment

• Main Author: Liu, Vanessa
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2017
• Subjects: Culture; Immigrants; Second-Generation; Education; Home Country; International and Comparative Education
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1625; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2704&context=cmc_theses

This paper analyzes the effect of culture – measured by aggregate levels of an immigrant parent’s home country educational attainment – on the educational attainment of second-generation immigrants in America. I use 2005-2014 October U.S. Current Population Surveys (CPS) data and the Barro-Lee data set to match the educational attainment of second-generation immigrants to the educational attainment averages of the respective home country from which their parents emigrated. Overall, I find that second-generation immigrants’ educational attainment is significantly and positively affected by their immigrant parent’s home country educational attainment. This suggests that cultural norms, particularly those regarding education, may persist in immigrant families even after resettling in America. I also find that the effects of home country educational attainment on second-generation outcomes do not differ by the gender of the second-generation immigrant.