Working Paper: NBER ID: w1274
Authors: Jonathan S. Leonard
Abstract: This paper seeks to disentangle the impactof residential segregation from that of employment discrimination in determining black employment share. The major finding is that distance of a workplace from the main ghetto is one of the strongest and most significant determinants of both changes over time and levels of the racial composition of the workforce. This paper presents evidence of more heterogeneous micro labor supply within SMSA's than has usually been recognized for policy purposes. Comparing Chicago with Los Angeles, we find that distance from the ghetto has a stronger impact in Chicago, and that this effect increased during the late 1970's. In contrast, residential segregation is relatively less important indetermining workplace demographics in Los Angeles, despite its rudimentary public transit system and prototypical job dispersion. In both cities,residential segregation strongly influences black employment patterns and limits the efficacy of efforts to integrate the workplace.
Keywords: Residential Segregation; Employment Discrimination; Black Employment Share; Urban Labor Market
JEL Codes: J15; J71; R23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Residential segregation (R23) | Black employment opportunities (J68) |
| Residential segregation (R23) | Efficacy of affirmative action efforts (J78) |
| Distance from the ghetto (R23) | Black employment share (J79) |
| Distance from the ghetto (R23) | Changes in racial composition of the workforce (J79) |
| Distance from the ghetto (R23) | Black employment share in Chicago (J79) |
| Distance from the ghetto (R23) | Black employment share in Los Angeles (J79) |