In the literature on United States racial and ethnic relations, a prevalent assertion is that Asian Americans exceed other ethnic groups, and often even whites, in income, occupational, and educational levels. Implicit in this view is the essential fairness argument about hard work: If Asian Americans can make it, why can't other minorities? Data presented here from the 1970 and 1980 censuses suggest that the relationship between effort and achievement is pivotal to this discussion and needs to be addressed in conceptually meaningful ways.
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