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The Effects of Racial Segregation on Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from Historical Railroad Placement

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Abstract

This paper provides new evidence on the causal impacts of citywide racial segregation on intergenerational mobility. We use an instrumental variable approach that relies on plausibly exogenous variation in segregation due to the arrangement of railroad tracks in the 19th century. Our analysis finds that higher segregation reduces upward mobility for Black children from households across the income distribution and White children from low-income households. Moreover, segregation lowers academic achievement while increasing incarceration and teenage birth rates. An analysis of mechanisms shows that segregation reduces government spending, weakens support for antipoverty policies, and increases racially conservative attitudes among White residents.

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  • Eric Chyn & Kareem Haggag & Bryan Stuart, 2023. "The Effects of Racial Segregation on Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from Historical Railroad Placement," Working Papers 23-18, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedpwp:96678
    DOI: 10.21799/frbp.wp.2023.18
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    1. Michal Bauer & Jana Cahlíková & Julie Chytilová & Gérard Roland & Tomáš Želinský, 2023. "Shifting Punishment onto Minorities: Experimental Evidence of Scapegoating," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(652), pages 1626-1640.
    2. Paola Giuliano & Marco Tabellini, 2020. "The Seeds of Ideology: Historical Immigration and Political Preferences in the United States," NBER Working Papers 27238, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Ilyana Kuziemko & Michael I. Norton & Emmanuel Saez & Stefanie Stantcheva, 2015. "How Elastic Are Preferences for Redistribution? Evidence from Randomized Survey Experiments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(4), pages 1478-1508, April.
    4. Samuel Bazzi & Arya Gaduh & Alexander D. Rothenberg & Maisy Wong, 2019. "Unity in Diversity? How Intergroup Contact Can Foster Nation Building," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(11), pages 3978-4025, November.
    5. Cruces, Guillermo & Perez-Truglia, Ricardo & Tetaz, Martin, 2013. "Biased perceptions of income distribution and preferences for redistribution: Evidence from a survey experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 100-112.
    6. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
    7. Michael Tesler, 2012. "The Spillover of Racialization into Health Care: How President Obama Polarized Public Opinion by Racial Attitudes and Race," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(3), pages 690-704, July.
    8. Ellora Derenoncourt, 2022. "Can You Move to Opportunity? Evidence from the Great Migration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(2), pages 369-408, February.
    9. Leah Platt Boustan, 2010. "Was Postwar Suburbanization "White Flight"? Evidence from the Black Migration," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(1), pages 417-443.
    10. Collins, William J. & Wanamaker, Marianne H., 2015. "The Great Migration in Black and White: New Evidence on the Selection and Sorting of Southern Migrants," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 75(4), pages 947-992, December.
    11. Enos, Ryan D. & Celaya, Christopher, 2018. "The Effect of Segregation on Intergroup Relations," Journal of Experimental Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 26-38, April.
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    1. Vu, Hoa & Green, Tiffany L. & Swan, Laura E.T., 2024. "Born on the wrong side of the tracks: Exploring the causal effects of segregation on infant health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    2. Bocar A. Ba & Abdoulaye Ndiaye & Roman G. Rivera & Alexander Whitefield, 2024. "Mispricing Narratives after Social Unrest," CESifo Working Paper Series 11264, CESifo.
    3. Kenneth Whaley, 2024. "Residential Segregation at Physical Neighborhood Boundaries," Working Papers 2024-02, University of South Florida, Department of Economics.
    4. Bocar A. Ba & Abdoulaye Ndiaye & Roman G. Rivera & Alexander Whitefield, 2024. "Mispricing Narratives after Social Unrest," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 096, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Race; Inequality; Intergenerational Mobility; Segregation; Discrimination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

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