Linear or Segmented Assimilation? Intergenerational Social Mobility by Migratory Origin in Buenos Aires, 1961-2016

Abstract

This article examines intergenerational social mobility patterns by migratory family origins in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA). The data is drawn from Germani’s probabilistic survey created in 1961 and its replication by PI-Clases in 2016. The results show that, in 1961, the second generation of European immigrants exhibited upward mobility patterns similar to those of individuals with two generations of native ancestry in AMBA, thereby supporting the linear assimilation theory. In contrast, by 2016, subaltern ethnic groups, including descendants of internal criollo migrants and Latin American migrants, faced fewer opportunities for upward mobility due to “cumulative disadvantages” and “additional penalties” rooted in ethno-racial discrimination, thereby supporting the segmented assimilation framework. Overall, the Argentine case underscores the interplay between ethnicity, cultural assimilation, and shifting opportunity structures in shaping intergenerational social mobility across migratory streams.

This article examines intergenerational social mobility patterns by migratory family origins in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA). The data is drawn from Germani’s probabilistic survey created in 1961 and its replication by PI-Clases in 2016. The results show that, in 1961, the second generation of European immigrants exhibited upward mobility patterns similar to those of individuals with two generations of native ancestry in AMBA, thereby supporting the linear assimilation theory. In contrast, by 2016, subaltern ethnic groups, including descendants of internal criollo migrants and Latin American migrants, faced fewer opportunities for upward mobility due to “cumulative disadvantages” and “additional penalties” rooted in ethno-racial discrimination, thereby supporting the segmented assimilation framework. Overall, the Argentine case underscores the interplay between ethnicity, cultural assimilation, and shifting opportunity structures in shaping intergenerational social mobility across migratory streams.