There are many theories that attempt to explain persistent inequalities in the labor market. Many focus on barriers such as race and gender, but language, ethnicity and other factors can also play a role.
Migrants often have different reasons for coming to the United States. Two common motivations are their educational and employment aspirations for their children. The dutiful, hard-working child of immigrants has become a kind of cultural type in America, but research suggests the reality for such children is more complex.
An estimated 200 million migrants cross national borders each year around the globe, prompting concerns in many countries about the economic and social effects of these waves of newcomers. While backlashes against immigrants may be superficially similar across many cultures, underlying motivations can differ.
While depression is often linked with physiological factors, the larger human environment appears to contribute to and worsen existing depression. The degree to which this is true, however, and how much impact public health and safety efforts might help mitigate depression in the populace, is less certain.
In the absence of a constitutional mandate, the political parties in the United States have had to invent their own methods for selecting presidential candidates. States such as Iowa rely on caucuses — party-specific gatherings where participants publicly declare their candidate preference. Questions remain, however, about the fairness and representative nature of that particular electoral process.
As major political questions about unauthorized immigrants in the United States continue to be debated, the size and nature of the undocumented population is changing. Observers note several new trends that may be driving such changes. Law enforcement tactics and policies are evolving, home country economies are changing, and the negative economic and labor situation within the United States has made the country less attractive to some potential migrants.
The economic turmoil of 2007-2009 adversely impacted household earnings across America, but a 2011 research study details the extent to which significant declines in household wealth were concentrated in lower-income and minority populations and those whose wealth was primarily derived from their homes.
