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Why Work Disappears: Neighborhood Racial Composition and Employers' Relocation Intentions

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  • John Iceland
  • David R. Harris

Abstract

Over the past 25 years there has been a dramatic decline in the number of quality jobs located in central cities. This has disproportionately had an adverse impact on the economic prospects of African-Americans. One issue that has been neglected by most urban poverty researchers is the reasons why firms move. Using data from a representative sample of employers in Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Detroit, we assess the extent to which firms in these cities are more likely to express relocation intentions in neighborhoods with an increasing proportion of African American residents. Results indicate that firms in Boston and Los Angeles are indeed considerably more likely to express desires to flee neighborhoods with an increasing proportion of black residents. This exacerbates spatial mismatches in black urban communities. In Detroit and Atlanta, race displays little effect on firms' relocation intentions. Perhaps firms which are sensitive to race have long since relocated in Detroit and Atlanta, given their long histories of black/white balkanization and conflict.

Suggested Citation

  • John Iceland & David R. Harris, 1998. "Why Work Disappears: Neighborhood Racial Composition and Employers' Relocation Intentions," JCPR Working Papers 45, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:wop:jopovw:45
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Laurent Gobillon & Harris Selod & Yves Zenou, 2007. "The Mechanisms of Spatial Mismatch," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(12), pages 2401-2427, November.
    2. Anet Weterings, 2014. "What Makes Firms Leave the Neighbourhood?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(8), pages 1613-1633, June.

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