Is the contemporary second generation on the road to the upward mobility and assimilation that in retrospect characterized the second generation of earlier immigrations? Or are the American economic context and the racial origins of today's immigration likely to result in a much less favorable future for the contemporary second generation? While several recent papers have argued for the latter position, we suspect they are too pessimistic. We briefly review the second generation upward mobility in the past and then turn to the crucial comparisons between past and present.

[No Keywords available]

Studies Research Methodology Comparative Studies Culture cultural anthropology Americas economics population methodology demography social change Family And Household Ethnic Groups ethnic group Developed Countries comparative study socioeconomic status USA family size social mobility Family Characteristics United States Cultural Background North America social status Acculturation Socioeconomic Factors second generation immigrants socioeconomics Western Hemisphere cultural factor Article cultural assimilation developed country population and population related phenomena Demographic Factors research Economic Factors social class Northern America Population Characteristics generations immigrant population