Immigration, inclusion, and equity

Mollenkopf's comparison of immigrants in New York and Amsterdam is difficul t to test, given the impressionistic nature of his evidence. Evidence point s to differences in the character of immigrant absorption in the two cities , without necessarily indicating the superiority of one over the other. Ams terdam's immigrants function in an assimilationist rather than a multi-cult ural environment; they benefit from higher levels of welfare spending and a more equal income distribution; New York's immigrants are less subject to discrimination based on religion. Comparing central cities rather than metr opolitan areas may underestimate the success of New York's foreign-born. It is problematic whether African Americans or immigrants constitute the more appropriate comparison group. If the former, then the case for New York's greater tolerance becomes much harder to make.