SOCIAL BACKGROUND AND SOCIAL-CONTEXT EFFECTS ON YOUNG MENS IDLENESS TRANSITIONS

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth are used to assess racial and ethnic differences in the determinants of entering inactiv ity for 1731 initially active young men. These findings indicate that social context variables play a moderate role in explaining weak labor force attachment among nonwhite youth, but are relatively less import ant for white youth. On the other hand, the effects of social backgrou nd characteristics are significant determinants of white youth idlenes s and less important for nonwhite youth-especially for black youth. Mo reover, black-white differences in the effects of social background an d social context are large and statistically significant. Local opport unity structure and individual human capital characteristics have larg e effects on the inactivity of youth as a whole. (C) 1996 Academic Pre ss, Inc.