In uncertain economic times, who are those young adults that show positive expectations about their economic future? And who are those who worry? Based on previous stratification research and extending economic sociology insights into the realm of young people’s economic expectations, we focus on the impact of family class background and a sense of current meaningful community relations on young adults’ general and job-specific economic expectations. Analysis of Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data reveals that a sense of community belonging has a robust and positive impact on economic optimism of young adults, but the role of family socioeconomic background is weaker. We conclude that imagining one’s economic future is less about realistic calculation determined by early structural conditions but more about identity work of young people who assert their moral worth in how they imagine their economic lives and manage uncertainty and well-being in ongoing social relations.

This essay focuses on the productive role of children in immigrant families, and their various resource contributions. We first identify a contemporary understanding of children as targets of emotional and financial investment that parents make to secure their children's future success. This investment model views children as mostly passive receivers of resources. In contrast, we review research that showcases various productive contributions of children in immigrant families, including academic and language help, emotion work, and financial contributions. We end the review by identifying two theoretical perspectives that scholarship on productive role of children in immigrant families relies on, the social exchange theory, and the culture of collectivism. We contrast these two theories with a relational work perspective in economic sociology, which suggests that children's productive role in immigrant families is not only an example of instrumental reciprocity, or expression of collectivism, but part and parcel of relational work that involves dynamic negotiation of economic and social relations within and outside of immigrant families.

We link the theory of gender performance to the perspective on the social meaning of money and relational work. Using longitudinal Panel Study of Income Dynamics data on young adult women and men, ages 18 through 24 in the US, we examine survey responses to different money-related situations. We question the expected gender-typical meanings of money, offering a more contextual understanding. Specifically, we find that when asked about the present, young women express that they worry more frequently about money than men do. However, when asked about the future–likelihood of having difficulty with financially supporting one’s family and likelihood of having a job that pays well–we find no significant gender differences. Instead, we find expressions of optimism rather than worry by young women and men alike. These results hold when controlling for psychological dispositions, financial obligations, and demographics. Overall, we note the importance of contextually situating ‘gender effects’ in relation to money matters, and call for more sociological research that places gender performance centrally into the analyses of economy and examines gendered relational work across different time orientations.