The Politics of Asian Americans

Social Capital, Race, and Income Inequality in the United States

“…One reason for the ineffectiveness of social capital in state-level analyses is the pluralistic approach in Putnam's theorization of social capital that downplays the power of traditional political institutions favoring the white majority [3]. Social capital, however, has also been found in the literature of ethnic studies generating a positive effect on minority political participation, which leads to minority political incorporation and empowerment [30,34]. This study combines the insights from these two seemingly contradictory findings, and reexamines the original measure of social capital index (SCI) constructed at the state level by Putnam [2].…”

“…However, the racial segregations in American church congregations may also play a negative role in combating income inequality. It is, therefore, important to incorporate church attendance to the construction of SCI to explore the influence of social capital and racial diversity on income inequality at the state level in the United States [34].…”

“…Research shows that church attendance increases the political participation of blacks [31][32][33], and voting participation of Asian Americans [34]. Churches also provide many opportunities for developing civic skills by giving speeches, organizing and facilitating meetings, mediating disagreements, and holding leadership and administrative responsibility positions for minorities [35].…”

The Experiences and Effects of Economic Status Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities

“…This work largely follows the approach taken in research on African Americans by examining perceptions of shared interests among individuals and the potential for group consciousness to foster political participation (e.g., de la Garza et al 1992;Jones-Correa and Leal 1996;Lien, Conway, and Wong 2004).…”

Partisanship by Invitation: Immigrants Respond to Political Campaigns

“…The general consensus among scholars is that partisanship is relatively shallow within this population (Abrajano 2010;Abrajano and Alvarez 2010;Cain, Kiewiet, and Uhlaner 1991;Fraga et al 2011;Hajnal and Lee 2011;Jones-Correa 1998;Junn et al 2011;Lien, Conway, and Wong 2004;Nguyen and Garand 2009;Pantoja 2013;Schildkraut 2013;Wong 2006). As Schildkraut (2013, 29-30) writes, the incidence of party identification among immigrants today "is low, which is attributed to a variety of factors, including the lack of information about American partisan politics, the lack of outreach by parties, and that issues of central concern to immigrants might not align with the nation's current left/right divide.…”