Below is a first look at new and forthcoming books from the Foundation for Spring 2015. The list includes Beyond Obamacare, a major new analysis of how to reorient the broken health care system in the U.S.; The Asian American Achievement Paradox, an investigation of the “model minority” stereotype and why certain immigrant groups succeed; Too Many Children Left Behind, a comparative study across four countries of the socioeconomic achievement gap among grade-school children; and Gender and International Migration, a historical evaluation of the changes in gendered migration patterns over several centuries.

To request a printed copy of our Spring 2015 catalog, please contact Bruce Thongsack at bruce@rsage.org, or view the complete list of RSF books on our publications page.

Beyond Obamacare: Life, Death, and Social Policy
By James S. House

Health care spending in the United States today is approaching 20% of the national GDP. How is it possible that the U.S. spends more than any other nation on health care, yet has experienced declining levels of population health overall? Sociologist and public health expert James S. House analyzes this paradoxical crisis, offering surprising new explanations for how and why the U.S. has fallen into this trap. In Beyond Obamacare, he shows that health care reforms, including the Affordable Care Act, cannot resolve this crisis because they do not address the underlying causes for the nation’s poor health care outcomes. House demonstrates how the problems of our broken health care system are interconnected with our large social disparities and calls for a complete reorientation of how we think about health. He concludes that we need to move away from a myopic focus on individual biological and medical issues, such as diseases and injuries, and place more emphasis on addressing economic, environmental, and psychological inequalities. Read more

Too Many Children Left Behind: The U.S. Achievement Gap in Comparative Perspective
By Bruce Bradbury, Miles Corak, Jane Waldfogel, and Elizabeth Washbrook

The belief that with hard work and determination, all children have the opportunity to succeed in life is a cherished part of the American Dream. Yet increased inequality in America has made that dream more difficult for many to obtain. In Too Many Children Left Behind, an international team of social scientists assesses how social mobility varies in the U.S. compared to Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Bruce Bradbury, Miles Corak, Jane Waldfogel, and Elizabeth Washbrook show that the academic achievement gap between American low-income children and their more affluent peers are far greater than those in other wealthy countries, with serious consequences for their future life outcomes. With education the key to expanding opportunities for those born into poverty, Too Many Children Left Behind helps us better understand educational disparities and how to reduce them. Read more

The Asian American Achievement Paradox
By Jennifer Lee and Min Zhou

Asian Americans are often stereotyped as the “model minority.” Their sizeable presence at elite universities and high household incomes relative to other minority groups have helped shape the narrative of an Asian American “exceptionalism.” While many activists and scholars characterized this view as a myth, others have claimed that these favorable outcomes are the product of unique cultural values. In The Asian American Achievement Paradox, sociologists Jennifer Lee and Min Zhou offer a compelling account for the notable academic achievement of the children of Asian immigrants. Drawing from in-depth interviews with Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants, Lee and Zhou bridge sociology and social psychology to explain how public policy, local networks, and culture interact to foster achievement for certain Asian American groups. Read more

Gender and International Migration: From the Slavery Era to the Global Age
By Katharine M. Donato and Donna Gabaccia

In 2006, the United Nations reported on the “feminization” of migration, noting that the number of female migrants had doubled over the last five decades. Likewise, global awareness of issues like human trafficking and the exploitation of immigrant domestic workers has increased attention to the gender makeup of migrants. But are we witnessing an unprecedented number of women moving across borders? In Gender and International Migration, sociologists Katharine Donato and Donna Gabaccia evaluate the historical evidence and show that women have been a significant part of migration flows for centuries. This first scholarly analysis of female migration prior to the twentieth century demonstrates that changing gender patterns in migration reflect not only the movements of women relative to men, but larger shifts in immigration policies and gender relations globally. Read more