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Socioeconomic Variation Among Arab Immigrants in the United States: Does gender matter?
Abstract by Dr. Kristine Ajrouch On Session 078  (Arabs in the U.S. Census)

On Sunday, November 22 at 4:30 pm

2015 Annual Meeting

Abstract
In this study, we examine the extent to which the so-called “Arab immigrant success story” is directly relevant to U.S. Arab immigrants from various regions in the Arab world. This is particularly interesting given that Arab American women report higher education levels than non-Arab women in the U.S. In particular, we use a key indicator of socioeconomic attainment, income, to investigate economic success, controlling for human capital variables including education. Do hourly earnings of Arab immigrants significantly differ by region and gender? Data for this study were derived from the 2001-2013 samples of the American Community Survey. Arab immigrants identified as being born in North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan); Levant/Fertile Crescent (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq); and the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf (Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen) are included. Multivariate regression analyses show that region of origin is not a significant factor in socioeconomic achievement. We rather found that gender is a more powerful variable in structuring socioeconomic variation among Arab immigrants. Findings advance understanding of gender patterns among Arab immigrants, and are discussed in the context of the fact that Arab American women report higher education levels than their non-Arab counterparts.
Discipline
Sociology
Geographic Area
None
Sub Area
None