Adolescent Neighborhood Occupational Structure and Adult Occupational Attainment

• In Event: 411 - Section on Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 10. Neighborhoods, Housing, and Inequality.

Abstract

Although social mobility research highlights parental occupational status’ influence on children’s occupational attainment, it also theorizes adolescent neighbors’ occupations substantial role in social mobility. Little empirical work, however, analyzes this relationship. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n=13,208) and the 1990 decennial Census, the present study explores the association between adolescents’ neighborhood occupational structure and their adult occupational attainment. Conditional logit regressions model how multiple occupational characteristics, individual characteristics, and the correspondence between these elements explains adults’ occupational outcomes. Controlling for adolescents’ county occupational structure, parental occupational and educational status, and gendered occupational sorting, the models demonstrate as the percent of adolescent census tract neighbors in an occupational group increased by 1 percent, an adult is 2.5 percent more likely to be employed that same occupational group. Adolescents’ educational attainment partially mediates the association between neighborhood occupational structure and occupational attainment substantially weakens but remains significant.

Author

• Chantal Annise Hailey, New York University