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Segregation and Social Welfare: A Methodological Proposal with an Application to the U.S

Author

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  • Coral Río

    (Universidade de Vigo (ECOSOT-ECOBAS and EQUALITAS))

  • Olga Alonso-Villar

    (Universidade de Vigo (ECOSOT-ECOBAS and EQUALITAS))

Abstract

The aim of this paper is twofold: (a) to define a new concept, the welfare loss that a society experiences due to the segregation of the demographic groups that comprise it and (b) to propose measures that quantify this phenomenon satisfying a set of normative properties. In aggregating the well-being losses (gains) of the groups derived for being concentrated in low-status (high-status) organizational units, this paper embraces the distributive approach adopted in the literature on economic deprivation and poverty. The advantages of these measures are shown by exploring the welfare losses that the United States has experienced from 1980 to 2012 due to occupational segregation by both gender and race/ethnicity. Our analysis shows that our measures reveal certain aspects of the phenomenon that do not emerge when using overall segregation measures. Thus, for example, while nothing seems to have changed in U.S. labor market in the last decade according to some well-known overall segregation measures, the social welfare loss due to segregation has actually increased.

Suggested Citation

  • Coral Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2018. "Segregation and Social Welfare: A Methodological Proposal with an Application to the U.S," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 257-280, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:137:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1598-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-017-1598-0
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Segregation measures; Social welfare; Occupations; Wages; Gender/race;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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