Working Paper: NBER ID: w16702
Authors: Leah Platt Boustan; Robert A. Margo
Abstract: Between 1940 and 1980, the homeownership rate among metropolitan African-American households increased by 27 percentage points. Nearly three-quarters of this increase occurred in central cities. We show that rising black homeownership in central cities was facilitated by the movement of white households to the suburban ring, which reduced the price of urban housing units conducive to owner-occupancy. Our OLS and IV estimates imply that 26 percent of the national increase in black homeownership over the period is explained by white suburbanization.
Keywords: Homeownership; Suburbanization; Racial Disparities; Housing Market
JEL Codes: J71; N92; R21
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| white suburbanization (R23) | decrease in housing prices in central cities (R31) |
| decrease in housing prices in central cities (R31) | increase in black homeownership (R21) |
| white suburbanization (R23) | increase in black homeownership (R21) |
| white suburbanization (R23) | black homeownership (R21) |