Working Paper: NBER ID: w13082
Authors: David M. Cutler; Edward L. Glaeser; Jacob L. Vigdor
Abstract: Recent literature on the relationship between ethnic or racial segregation and outcomes has failed to produce a consensus view of the role of ghettos; some studies suggest that residence in an enclave is beneficial, some reach the opposite conclusion, and still others imply that any relationship is small. This paper presents new evidence on this relationship using data on first-generation immigrants in the United States. Using average group characteristics as instruments for segregation, controlling for individual characteristics and both metropolitan area and country-of-origin fixed effects, we estimate impacts of residential concentration that vary with group human capital levels. Residential concentration can be beneficial, but primarily for more educated groups. The mean impact of residential concentration varies across measures, which may illuminate some of the causal mechanisms relating segregation to outcomes.
Keywords: immigrant segregation; neighborhood effects; ethnic enclaves; socioeconomic outcomes
JEL Codes: J15; R23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| segregation (Y40) | economic outcomes (F61) |
| segregation (Y40) | income (E25) |
| segregation (Y40) | language acquisition (K37) |
| segregation (Y40) | educational outcomes (I26) |
| higher human capital groups (J24) | beneficial effects of segregation (I14) |
| less educated groups (I24) | adverse effects of segregation (I14) |