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Collective Action, White Flight, and the Origins of Racial Zoning Laws

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  • Werner Troesken
  • Randall Walsh

Abstract

This article develops and tests a simple model to explain a watershed moment in the history of residential segregation: the passage of municipal segregation ordinances. Passed by American cities between 1909 and 1917, these ordinances were the first formal laws in American history designed to segregate city neighborhoods along racial lines. The ordinances prohibited whites (blacks) on a given city block from selling or renting property to blacks (whites). We argue that prior to these ordinances, cities sustained residential segregation through private norms and vigilante activity. Only when these private arrangements began to break down during the early 1900s did whites start lobbying municipal governments for segregation ordinances.

Suggested Citation

  • Werner Troesken & Randall Walsh, 2019. "Collective Action, White Flight, and the Origins of Racial Zoning Laws," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(2), pages 289-318.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jleorg:v:35:y:2019:i:2:p:289-318.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jleo/ewz006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Timothy Besley, 2013. "Implementation of Anti-Discrimination Policy: Does Judicial Selection Matter?," American Law and Economics Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 212-251.
    2. Carlos Berdejó & Noam Yuchtman, 2013. "Crime, Punishment, and Politics: An Analysis of Political Cycles in Criminal Sentencing," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(3), pages 741-756, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Trevor Kollmann & Simone Marsiglio & Sandy Suardi & Marco Tolotti, 2021. "Social interactions, residential segregation and the dynamics of tipping," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 1355-1388, September.
    2. Jamie Bologna Pavlik & Yang Zhou, 2023. "Are historic districts a backdoor for segregation? Yes and no," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(3), pages 415-434, July.
    3. Price V. Fishback & Jonathan Rose & Kenneth A. Snowden & Thomas Storrs, 2021. "New Evidence on Redlining by Federal Housing Programs in the 1930s," NBER Working Papers 29244, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Xia, Fangzhou & Lu, Pingzhen, 2023. "Can mixed land use promote social integration? Multiple mediator analysis based on spatiotemporal big data in Beijing," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    5. Shertzer, Allison & Twinam, Tate & Walsh, Randall P., 2022. "Zoning and segregation in urban economic history," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. Prottoy A. Akbar & Sijie Li & Allison Shertzer & Randall P. Walsh, 2019. "Racial Segregation in Housing Markets and the Erosion of Black Wealth," NBER Working Papers 25805, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Walker Wright, 2022. "Illiberal economic institutions and racial intolerance in the United States," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 307-326, June.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • N92 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General

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