Working Paper: NBER ID: w10312
Authors: John F. Kain; Edward L. Glaeser; Eric A. Hanushek; John M. Quigley
Abstract: Today, no economist studying the spatial economy of urban areas would ignore the effects of race on housing markets and labor market opportunities, but this was not always the case. Through what can be seen as a consistent and integrated research plan, John Kain developed many central ideas of urban economics but, more importantly, legitimized and encouraged scholarly consideration of the geography of racial opportunities. His provocative (and prescient) study of the linkage between housing segregation and the labor market opportunities of Blacks was a natural outgrowth of his prior work on employment decentralization and housing constraints on Black households. His more recent program of research on school outcomes employing detailed administrative data was an extension of the same empirical interest in how the economic opportunities of minority households vary with location. This paper identifies the influence of John Kain's ideas on different areas of research and suggests that his scientific work was thoroughly interrelated.
Keywords: race; urban economics; housing markets; labor market opportunities; discrimination
JEL Codes: R2; J7; I2
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Housing market discrimination (R31) | Segregation (R28) |
| Segregation (R28) | Distance between black workers and jobs (J69) |
| Distance between black workers and jobs (J69) | Black labor market outcomes (J79) |
| Housing market discrimination (R31) | Black labor market outcomes (J79) |
| Residential segregation (R23) | Black employment rates (J79) |
| Employment decentralization (J63) | Access to job opportunities (J68) |