Showing papers by "Alejandro Portes published in 2012"
12 Nov 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a book, "Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective," which is a sociological perspective of social stratification.
Abstract: This chapter has been taken from the book, "Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective."
238 citations
TL;DR: The interaction between the immigration and health systems in the USA is examined, highlighting regional differences and the importance of local politics and history in shaping health care alternatives for the foreign born.
Abstract: On the basis of a study of forty health care delivery institutions in Florida, California, and New Jersey, this paper examines the interaction the immigration and health systems in the USA. We investigate barriers to care encountered by the foreign-born, especially unauthorized immigrants, and the systemic contradictions between demand for their labor and the absence of an effective immigration policy. Lack of access and high costs have forced the uninsured poor into a series of coping strategies, which we describe in relation to commercial medicine. We highlight regional differences and the importance of local politics and history in shaping health care alternatives for the foreign-born.
104 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparative study of out-migration between two major countries of outmigration, Mexico and China, has been conducted, focusing on the organized efforts of immigrant communities themselves.
Abstract: The literature on development in economics and sociology has tended to focus on capital flows, investments, and, more recently, institutions as key causal factors. International migration, when discussed, is relegated to the status of a symptom of underdevelopment and even a factor contributing to it. The more recent literature on migrant remittances has partially reversed this view by documenting large hard currency transfers made by expatriates to their home countries. This changed approach to migration and development does not go far enough because it does not take into account the organized efforts of immigrant communities themselves. Nor does it consider important developmental synergies produced by the rising interactions between immigrant organizations and sending-country governments. Using data from a recently completed comparative study, we document these processes for two major countries of out-migration—Mexico and China. The study compiled inventories of migrant organizations from both countries in the United States, interviewed leaders of the major ones, and complemented these data with interviews with officials and community leaders in each sending country. Profiles of these transnational ties were constructed, exemplifying their increasing density and developmental impact at the local and national levels. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.
74 citations
TL;DR: Fernandez-Kelly and Light as discussed by the authors discuss the challenges faced by immigrants in the US health care system and the power of local autonomy to expand health care to unauthorized immigrants in San Francisco.
Abstract: Introduction Patricia Fernandez-Kelly and Alejandro Portes 1. Life on the Edge: Immigrants confront the American health care system Alejandro Portes, Patricia Fernandez-Kelly and Donald Light 2. Categorical inequality, institutional ambivalence, and permanently failing institutions: the case of immigrants and barriers to health care in America Donald Light 3. Access to health services for immigrants in the USA: from the Great Society to the 2010 Health Reform Act and after David Warner 4. Rethinking the deserving body: altruism, markets, and political action in health care provision Patricia Fernandez-Kelly 5. Structural violence and compassionate compatriots: immigrant health care in South Florida Lisa Konczal and Leah Varga 6. The power of local autonomy: expanding health care to unauthorized immigrants in San Francisco Helen B. Marrow 7. Unequal Access: Insurance Coverage and Immigrant Generational Status of Diverse Children Ethan J. Evans 8. 'We eat meat every day': ecology and economy of dietary change among Oaxacan Migrants from Mexico to New Jersey Peter J. Guarnaccia, Teresa Vivar, Anne C. Bellows, and Gabriela Alcaraz V. 9. Gender and Health among Mexican and Middle-Eastern Immigrants Jen'nan Ghazal Read and Megan M. Reynolds 10. HIV and Latino migrant workers in the USA Jon Persichino and Leticia Ibarra 11. Beyond health care reform: immigrants and the future of medicine Christopher Searles Postscript Marisel Losa and Alan Goldsmith
32 citations
12 Sep 2012
TL;DR: Portes and Smith as discussed by the authors compared the role of institutions in the development process in the Dominican Republic and Chile, and found that institutions played an important role in the country's development.
Abstract: List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments 1 Institutions and Development: A Conceptual Reanalysis Alejandro Portes 2 The Comparative Study of Institutions: The "Institutional Turn" in Development Studies: A Review Alejandro Portes and Lori D Smith 3 Institutional Change and Development in Argentina Alejandro Grimson, Ana Castellani, and Alexander Roig 4 Institutional Change and Development in Chilean Market Society Guillermo Wormald and Daniel Brieba 5 The Colombian Paradox: A Thick Institutional Analysis Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito 6 Development Opportunities: Politics, the State, and Institutions in the Dominican Republic in the Twenty-First Century Wilfredo Lozano 7 The Uneven and Paradoxical Development of Mexico's Institutions Jose Luis Velasco 8 Conclusion: The Comparative Analysis of the Role of Institutions in National Development Alejandro Portes and Lori D Smith Appendix: Investigators Contributors Index
27 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the literature on determinants of ethnic/national self-identities and self-esteem as a prelude to examining these outcomes among a large, statistically representative sample of second generation adolescents in Madrid and Barcelona.
Abstract: We review the literature on determinants of ethnic/national self-identities and self-esteem as a prelude to examining these outcomes among a large, statistically representative sample of second generation adolescents in Madrid and Barcelona. While these psycho-social outcomes are malleable, they still represent important dimensions of immigrant adaptation and can have significant consequences both for individual mobility and collective mobilizations. Current theories are largely based on data from the United States and other Anglophone countries. The availability of a new large Spanish survey allows us to test those theories in an entirely different socio-cultural context. In addition to having data on close to seven thousand second generation youths, the study includes a survey of the parents, allowing us to examine directly how parental factors affect adolescent psycho-social outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed.
14 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the dynamics underlying contemporary South-North population displacements and the common gaps between public perceptions of the phenomenon and actual reality by focusing on the clash between opposing forces at various stages of the migration process.
Abstract: This essay examines the dynamics underlying contemporary South-North population displacements and the common gaps between public perceptions of the phenomenon and actual realities. I analyze these dynamics and gaps by focusing on the clash between opposing forces at various stages of the migration process. These tensions occur between actors endowed with unequal power, leading to inefficient Nash-like equilibria where the interests of less powerful participants and those of society-at-large in the successful integration of its newest members are not maximized. Matrices of hypothetical payoffs for relevant actors are presented for illustration. Systemic changes that would alter the present situation in the direction of more efficient and stable outcomes are discussed.
14 citations
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, a revision of the floreciente bibliografia sobre diversidad etno-racial and sus supuestos efectos sobre the confianza ciudadana and the cohesion, in el context of the evolucion del concepto de capital social and of the reivindicacion de sus multiples consecuencias positivas.
Abstract: Este articulo es una revision de la floreciente bibliografia sobre la diversidad etno-racial y sus supuestos efectos sobre la confianza ciudadana y la cohesion, en el contexto de la evolucion del concepto de capital social y de la reivindicacion de sus multiples consecuencias positivas. Presentamos evidencias que cuestionan tal reivindicacion y apuntan a que las raices del civismo y la confianza estan en procesos historicos profundos asociados a la raza y la inmigracion. Examinamos la presuncion de que la inmigracion reduce la cohesion social acudiendo a los clasicos de la sociologia para mostrar cuales son las formas de cohesion que realmente mantienen unidas a las sociedades contemporaneas. Esto nos conduce a una tipologia que presenta al «comunitarismo» solo como una forma mas entre ellas, una forma que no es ademas ni imprescindible ni necesariamente la ideal a la hora de facilitar el funcionamiento de organizaciones e instituciones complejas. Discutimos las implicaciones de nuestras conclusiones para futuras investigaciones y para la politica migratoria.
5 citations
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: A revisión de la floreciente bibliografía sobre la diversidad etno-racial and sus supuestos efectos sobre the confianza ciudadana and the cohesión, in el context of la evolución del concepto de capital social and de the reivindicación of sus múltiples consecuencias positivas, presentamos evidencias que cuestionan tal reivinding and apuntan a que las raí
Abstract: Este artículo es una revisión de la floreciente bibliografía sobre la diversidad etno-racial y sus supuestos efectos sobre la confianza ciudadana y la cohesión, en el contexto de la evolución del concepto de capital social y de la reivindicación de sus múltiples consecuencias positivas. Presentamos evidencias que cuestionan tal reivindicación y apuntan a que las raíces del civismo y la confianza están en procesos históricos profundos asociados a la raza y la inmigración. Examinamos la presunción de que la inmigración reduce la cohesión social acudiendo a los clásicos de la sociología para mostrar cuales son las formas de cohesión que realmente mantienen unidas a las sociedades contemporáneas. Esto nos conduce a una tipología que presenta al «comunitarismo» solo como una forma más entre ellas, una forma que no es además ni imprescindible ni necesariamente la ideal a la hora de facilitar el funcionamiento de organizaciones e instituciones complejas. Discutimos las implicaciones de nuestras conclusiones para futuras investigaciones y para la política migratoria.