Working Paper: NBER ID: w11507
Authors: Patrick Bayer; Hanming Fang; Robert McMillan
Abstract: This paper hypothesizes that segregation in US cities increases as racial inequality narrows due to the emergence of middle-class black neighborhoods. Employing a novel research design based on life-cycle variations in the relationship between segregation and inequality, we test this hypothesis using the 1990 and 2000 Censuses. Indeed, increased black educational attainment in a city leads to a significant rise in the number of middle-class black communities and segregation for older adults both in the cross-section and over time, consistent with our hypothesis. These findings imply a negative feedback loop that inhibits reductions in racial inequality and segregation over time.
Keywords: Racial Inequality; Residential Segregation; Neighborhood Formation
JEL Codes: H0; J7; R2
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Increased educational attainment among blacks in a city (I24) | Rise in the number of middle-class black communities (R23) |
| Increased educational attainment among blacks in a city (I24) | Residential segregation (R23) |
| Rise in the number of middle-class black communities (R23) | Greater residential segregation (R23) |
| Increased educational attainment among blacks (I24) | Greater residential segregation for older blacks (R23) |
| Narrowing racial inequality (I24) | Emergence of new middle-class black neighborhoods (R23) |
| Emergence of new middle-class black neighborhoods (R23) | Greater segregation (J79) |
| Changes in segregation between 1990 and 2000 (R23) | Increases in the proportion of highly educated blacks (I24) |
| Neighborhood effects mechanism (R23) | Positive correlation between segregation and inequality for younger blacks (I24) |
| Neighborhood formation mechanism (D85) | Negative relationship for older blacks (J79) |