Book Review of Immigrant Networks and Social Capital

Reviewed by: Sungeun A. Bae-Hansard, Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA DOI: 10.1177/0730888415570293

Carl Bankston’s Immigrant Networks and Social Capital examines the immigration process beyond individual-level approaches to immigration and immigrant adaptation. As the title suggests, Bankston is interested in how immigrants form connections and use the resulting networks to immigrate, find jobs and homes, educate their children, and adapt to the United States. Bankston argues that immigrant groups build networks in different ways based on these factors: the reasons why and conditions under which immigrants leave their native countries, the geographic proximity of the native country to the United States, the immigration policies at the time of migration, and the size of the immigrant population from their native countries.

Bankston devotes his first two chapters to establishing the definitions and examples of social networks and social capital, among other terms. In his discussion of social networks, Bankston examines the interrelation between spatial communities and patterns of communication. Bankston then reviews the theoretical debate around social capital as well as the negative aspects of social capital. Unlike other scholars who mainly perceive capital as the “more the better,” Bankston is quick to point out the “dark side” of social capital. The concentration of social capital often results in exclusionary bias or “opportunity hoarding,” which causes resentment toward the immigrant groups from native minorities.

In his third chapter, Bankston outlines the historical background and social networks of four immigrant groups: Mexicans, Koreans, Vietnamese, and Filipinos. As Bankston establishes in his introduction, these four immigrant groups are his primary examples. Throughout the book, however, he buttresses his arguments by providing examples from Laotian, Cambodian, Hmong, and Gujarati communities as well. Bankston provides a plethora of examples, often summarizing arguments made by immigrant scholars in published works and conference presentations.

In the next two chapters, Bankston reviews various types of networks and communities (e.g., enclaves and neighborhoods). Bankston recognizes that, in the modern era, communities do not have to be in one geographic location. In Chapter 6, he demonstrates how clubs, businesses, civic organizations, and religious institutions help establish social networks among his four primary immigrant groups. In the last two chapters, Bankston explores how social networks impact economic adaptations for first-generation immigrants and educational adaptation for second-generation immigrants.

Bankston is careful not to generalize about all immigrant groups based on the experiences of the ethnic groups he discusses in the book. Additionally, Bankston acknowledges that social networks work differently based on immigrants’ socioeconomic statuses. Despite his careful treatment of other factors, Bankston’s analysis of the impact of gender on social networks leaves much to be desired. Bankston briefly mentions that a large percentage of women from the Philippines tend to gravitate toward the occupation of nursing. He does not explore the reason for and the consequences of this phenomenon in depth. Bankston’s analysis seems incomplete because it lacks reference to studies like Hagan’s (1998). Hagan’s (1998) 3-year ethnographic study of the Maya community in Houston reveals the gendered nature of social networks. This gendering led to different occupational outcomes for men and women, which also impacted their likelihood of obtaining legal immigrant status.

All in all, I highly recommend the book to both advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Because of Bankston’s clear definitions and examples of types of social networks and social capital, as well as his thorough overview of numerous theoretical approaches to social networks and social capital, his book can be instructive even to those studying nonimmigrant populations. His concluding remarks on policy implications—“since immigrants act through their interpersonal networks, recognition of networks should be central to policies regarding immigrants”—and the practical aspects of his arguments should benefit nonacademic scholars working with the immigrant population as well (p. 188).

For those studying immigration, Immigrant Networks and Social Capital is a must-read. There is no question Bankston was the appropriate scholar to write this book. He is clearly up-to-date on the happenings in numerous fields, especially immigration, education, and religion.