Beyond the Shadow of White Privilege? The Socioeconomic Attainments of Second-Generation South Asian Americans

Isao Takei, University of Texas at Austin
Hyeyoung Woo, University of Texas at Austin

There have been numerous studies of second-generation minorities in recent years but South Asian Americans have been completely ignored in this growing literature. We provide the first multivariate statistical analysis that focuses specifically on the socioeconomic attainments of second-generation South Asian Americans. Our results indicate that this group has educational attainments that significantly exceed those of non-Hispanic whites. The wages of South Asian Americans are also on par with those of non-Hispanic whites who have similar educational and other basic demographic characteristics. If anything, 1.5-generation South Asian Americans may be slightly advantaged in terms of wages relative to non-Hispanic whites. These conclusions apply equally to both male and female South Asian Americans. Some theorists of race relations have emphasized the socioeconomic advantages of non-Hispanic whites relative to minorities with darker skin tones, but these theories do not appear to be directly applicable to second-generation South Asian Americans.