Do the differences make a difference? an empirical evaluation of the culture of poverty in the United States

Abstract

Causal path models of initial occupational prestige and income for the poor and the middle class (United States) are developed from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience in order to test Lewis's “perpetuation of poverty” hypothesis. All the variables predictive of educational, occupational, and financial achievement also differentiate the lower and middle classes. However, two‐thirds of the income gap between the descendants of the poor and those of the middle class is determined by structural factors beyond individual control.