Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The debate over legal and illegal immigration in our local communities and nationwide has produced a number of reactions. Some cities have passed laws favoring immigration, others have voted on resolutions and ordinances restricting the ability of certain groups to rent or work within their boundaries, still others have remained neutral. _x000d__x000d_Sandler acknowledges that many states have also created laws dealing with illegal immigrants and their employment in the U.S. workforcen (Sandler 2006). _x000d__x000d_The first section of this paper will discuss the historical and prevailing trends in cross-border immigration and the socio-economic variables that exist inside Mexico and the United States that creates an atmosphere to propel individuals to migrate north. At this point, the paper will describe the different actions that have taken place by local governments with respect to immigration. I describe these as sanctuary cities, enforcement cities, and neutral cities. Next, the paper will attempt to show a flaw in local government’s ability to legislate immigration policy by showing similarities to the Jim Crow laws of the last century. Finally, the paper shows the dilemma local governments find themselves in because of the lack of action.

Publication Type: Paper (prepared oral presentation)
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study looks at identity multiplicity among the Turkish and Moroccan second generation in five cities in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden, drawing on recent cross-national survey data from the TIES project. In a first step, we describe the identification patterns of both groups in the five urban contexts. We derive hypotheses from Social Dominance Theory (Sidanius, Feshbach, Levin, & Pratto, 1997; Sidanius & Petrocik, 2001; Sidanius & Pratto, 1999; Sinclair, Sidanius, & Levin, 1998) and from the Common In-Group Identification Model (Anastasio, Bachman, Gaertner, & Dovidio, 1997; Gaertner, Dovidio, Anastasio, Bachman, & Rust, 1993) regarding the compatibility of more and less inclusive categories of identification. Specifically, we describe how religious and ethnic subgroup identities – distinguishing the Turkish and Moroccan minority groups from the majority population – are combined with more inclusive identifications with the country and city of residence – as superordinate identities which are shared with the majority. Three distinct patterns emerge from the descriptive analyses: (1) a social dominance pattern where subgroup and superordinate identifications are negatively correlated, (2) a common in-group identification pattern where subgroup and superordinate identifications are positively correlated, and (3) a compartmentalisation pattern with orthogonal subgroup and superordinate identifications. While these patterns vary within groups between cities, less variation is found within cities across groups. Next, we test contextual explanations for the emergence of distinct identification patterns. In addition to objective disadvantage, perceived inter-group relations, e.g., perceptions of group discrimination, economic and cultural group threat, inter-group evaluative bias (feeling thermometer) and hostility, are included as predictors. The study aims to contribute to the theoretical debate on identity multiplicity (Amiot, de la Sablonnière, Terry, & Smith, 2007; Roccas & Brewer, 2002) by studying natural groups and salient identity categories across local and national contexts.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The studies using the type of city government as a dummy variable lead to the wrong conclusion. Mayor-Council and Council-Manager governments are consistently government efficiency and political supports simultaneously.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The economic recession of 2001 and ensuing fiscal difficulties at all levels of government brought renewed attention to the health of the public finance system. We watched as the economy and federal, state, and local governments went from a period of unprecedented growth and surplus in the late 1990s to sustained decline and deficit from 2001 to 2005.

Beyond their inherent importance, recent cyclical economic and fiscal struggles are a wake-up call for public officials to pay attention to a much broader set of structural problems. The evolving nature of the economy from one based on manufacturing and property-based wealth to one based on services and knowledge-based wealth creates unprecedented challenges for fiscal structures. Significant changes in demographic, political, and intergovernmental factors are creating opportunities and threats for the fiscal arrangements required to support evolving government roles. Changing government roles have important implications for the future of the system of public finance.

How have America’s cities, and in particular its biggest cities—the lynchpins of the nation’s metropolitan and regional economies—fared during recent periods of economic boom and bust and amid ongoing structural changes? The research presented in this paper is part of an ongoing project that has four purposes: (1) to analyze the effects of cyclical changes on city finances; (2) to outline and call attention to structural challenges to city finances; (3) to examine changes in the finances of America’s biggest cities over time; and (4) to analyze the effects of the recent economic downturn for America’s biggest cities. This paper summarizes our results, to date, on the first three items. In terms of our analysis of the fiscal conditions of America’s largest cities, we emphasize the underlying revenue and economic structures of America’s 40 largest cities. Our hypothesis is that the way that these cities tax affects the fiscal and economic health of their communities. Revenue structures matter, affecting the rise and fall of revenues, investments, and the abilities of governments to meet the needs of their residents.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Through a careful consideration and emphasis on culture, this paper demonstrates the lack of utility of theories of oppositional culture and downward assimilation in describing the trajectories of disadvantaged second generation youth. The paper compares working class and poor second generation teenagers in London and New York City by using school ethnographic, interview (n=130), and survey (n=191) data. Finding that youth in both cities express positive attitudes toward school and education; strong preferences for African American-inspired hip-hop music and styles; and the need to act tough and maintain self-pride, the paper concludes that Nondominant Cultural Capital (NDCC) is a better concept to explain minority urban youth. Urban youth create their own socio-cultural world with its own set of rules, taste preferences, and interactional styles. NDCC buys status for youth within their peer worlds. The most successful teenagers are able to succeed academically as well as within their peer world of NDCC. Indeed, this, rather than rejecting mainstream society and norms, is what most youth say they strive for.